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1821
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1915
MAIN
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B q OWE T72
\LECTS OF CENTRAL
ITALY
(RIES
BY
HERBERT H. fluGHAN, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA
191S
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL
ITALY
BY
HERBERT hH^AUGHAN, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA
1915
7^1 §2 I
JOSEPH G. ROSENGARTEN
THIS MONOGRAPH
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED AS A
MODEST TOKEN OF GRATITUDE FOR HIS CONSTANT AND GENEROUS
DEVOTION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
AND ESPECIALLY TO THE ADVANCEMENT
OF MODERN LANGUAGE STUDIES
34G483
PREFACE.
The purpose of this study is not a minute examination of
all the dialects in the territory indicated. If such were the
case the work, instead of being in one small volume, would
cover many and instead of being published after a few years
of investigation, it would require a lifetime for its comple-
tion. The writer will be content if he succeeds in giving
the reader a general idea of the dialectic peculiarities to be
found in Central Italy and if with the information herein
contained, the reader may be enabled to identify a given text
or a given pronunciation as coming from a certain province.
For this purpose a treatment of phonological phenomena is
sufficient and the writer does not attempt to deal with dialectic
vocabularies which would necessarily be incomplete and un-
satisfactory. It would indeed be unwise for a foreigner to
attempt such a task.
Many of the Central Italian and Abruzzese dialects have
been ably treated by the scholars best fitted to write of them,
that is, by natives of that territory. The information con-
tained in these studies has been freely used. In cases where
the author considered the development noted to be extra-
ordinary he has gone personally to verify it, but generally he
might have dispensed with so doing, for the work had been
excellently done. The list of articles used will be found in
the bibliography appended to this preface.
In order to retain as nearly as possible the orthography of
the dialect literature it has been deemed advisable not to at-
tempt to use a phonetic alphabet. The words are to be
pronounced according to Italian standards of pronunciation..
In the article on Tuscan, however, H, a simple aspirate (cf.
English H) is differentiated from the harsh velar ft (cf..
5
6 PREFACE
German CH). In the chapters on Abruzzese and Neapolitan
open E and O are indicated by the grave accent ( ' ) and
close E and O by the acute ('). Where no accent is given
the pronunciation of the accented vowel has been noted to
vary between open and close. Close A, where it occurs is in-
dicated by A. Palatal S is shown by S. Indistinct vowels
are shown as A, E, I, O, U.
The writer gratefully acknowledges the valuable sugges-
tions offered by Professors E. S. Sheldon, J. D. M. Ford,
and C. H. Grandgent of Harvard, Professor Raymond Weeks
of Columbia, and Professors H. A. Rennert and J. P. Wicker-
sham Crawford of Pennsylvania.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
F. D'OVIDIO, Fonetica del dialetto di Campobasso, Arch. Glott. IV.
u G. ASCOLI, L'ltalia Dialettale, Arch. Glott. VIII.
W-L. CECI, Vocalismo del dialetto d'Alatri, Arch. Glott. X.
V C. de LOLLIS, Dell'influsso dell'- 1 o del J postonico sulla vocale ac-
centata in qualche dialetto abruzzese, Arch. Glott. XII.
S. FIERI, Fonetica del dialetto Lucchese, Arch. Glott. XII.
S. FIERI, Fonetica del dialetto Fisano, Arch. Glott. XII.
I E. G. FARODI, II dialetto d'Arpino, Arch. Glott. XIII.
S. FIERI, II dialetto gallo-romano di Sillano, Arch. Glott. XIII.
G. FINAMORE, Vocabulario Abruzzese, (ist and 2nd ed.).
G. SAVIN I, La grammatica ed il lessico del dialetto Teramano, Tor-
ino, 1881.
G. FAFANTI, I parlari Italiani in Certaldo, Livorno, 1875.
F. WENTRUF, Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Neapolitanischen Mundart,
Wittenberg, 1855.
ZUCCAGNI-ORLANDINI, Raccolta di dialetti Italiani, Firenze, 1864.
MEYER-LUBKE, Grammatica storico-comparata della lingua Italiana
e dei dialetti Toscani, Torino, 1901.
G. N'ERUCCI, Saggio di uno studio sopra i parlari vernacoli della
Toscana.
In addition to the above-mentioned articles and volumes, more than
a hundred collections of dialectic poems have been studied.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction ii
CHAPTER I
Central Italian Dialects
A. Tuscan Group i6
I. Pistojese .... 17
II. Florentine 18
III. Siennese 19
IV. Arettine 20
V. Perugian 21
VI. Luccan .... 22
VII. Pisan 23
VIII. Livornese 24
B. Roman Group 25
I. Orbitellano 26
II. Roman 27
III. Ternano 28
IV. Nettunese 28
V. Anconitano . 29
CHAPTER II
Abruzzese Dialects
Tonic Vowels 30
A 30
E 33
I 36
O 37
U 41
Pretonic Vowels 42
Initial 42
Non-Initial 43
Post-tonic Vowels 44
Non-Final , 44
Final 44
7
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGB
Initial Consonants 45
B 45
P 46
F 47
V 48
D . . . 48
T 49
L 49
M SO
N 51
R • 52
S and X 53
C 55
G 56
J and D I 57
Q u 57
Medial Consonants 58
B S8
P 59
F 60
V 60
D 61
T 62
L 63
M 65
N . 66
R 67
S 69
C 69
G 70
J 71
CHAPTER III
Neapolitan
Tonic Vowels 72
Pretonic Vowels 73
Post-tonic Vowels 76
Initial Consonants tj
B 78
F 79
V 79
P 80
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
D 8i
T 8i
L 8i
M 82
N 83
R - 84
S and X 84
C 87
G 87
J and D I 88
Q U 88
Medial Consonants 89
B
F
V
P
D
T
L
M
N
R
S
c
G
J
89
89
90
90
91
92
92
94
95
96
97
98
99
99
Final Consonants 100
w
INTRODUCTION.
Dialects of Central Italy.
One of the most interesting fields for dialect study to-day
is that offered by Central Italy. Here we can study the
phonological developments with a fair degree of accuracy and
certainty, starting with a well-established pronunciation of
the Latin of Imperial times, and whenever and wherever
foreign influence makes itself felt, we know its date and
its extent.
There are many factors in dialect development, the most
important being racial. When Latin was learned by the
Goth or the Lombard, we should hardly expect him to speak
it with a Ciceronian accent, but rather that he should preserve
some of the tendencies of the Germanic languages in his
speech. Even phonetic laws of development may be trans-
ferred locally from one language to another in this way. It
would not be surprising then that the main dialect divisions
of our territory should be determined by such foreign in-
fluence.
When the Germanic tribes came into Italy, the first im-
portant barrier to their progress that they found was the
main chain of the Apennines, stretching across the penin-
sula from the Mediterranean nearly to the Adriatic. This
range sharply divides the Northern from the Central Italian
dialects.
Once in Tuscany, their advance to the South as far as
Rome and the Alban Hills was unimpeded, but their pro-
gress towards the East and Southeast was again stopped
by the mountains on the frontier of the Abruzzi. This
barrier marks the dividing line between Central Italian and
the Neapolitan group of dialects.
II
12 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Roughly speaking, our territory is thus divided into two
parts, Central Italian, which includes Tuscany, Umbria,
Latium, and the Marches of Pesaro and Ancona, and Neapoli-
tan, which includes the provinces of Naples, Terra di Lavoro,
Molise, Aquila, Chieti, Teramo, and the Marches of Ascoli
and Macerata.
But the Neapolitan teritory should again be divided and
the reason for this subdivision is chronologically anterior to
that for the division into Central Italian and Neapolitan.
In pre-Latin times Oscan was the speech of this territory,
the Oscan itself being more or less divided into dialects. When
Rome gained the supremacy, it forced the Latin language upon
the rest of Italy so that most of the Italian tribes spoke it
fairly well; but the savage and mountainous country of the
Abruzzi was never fully romanized and its inhabitants spoke
a Latin which is described to us as being crude and bar-
barous. On the other hand Terra di Lavoro and Naples
were completely latinized and Naples itself was a centre of
culture second only to Rome. Thus we have three important
dialect divisions, Central Italian, Neapolitan, and Abruzzese.
Literature, both popular and learned, is an important level-
ing influence in language development. Dante so crystalized
the literary Tuscan that since his time it has changed less
than French since the time of Rabelais. The educated Nea-
politan or the educated Abruzzese reads his Dante and other
works of Italian literature, learns Italian, and when he speaks
his dialect he carries over words and expressions from the
literary language. Thus we may expect to find Tuscan bor-
rowings in all the dialects.
But Neapolitan also has its literature which, although not
so rich as the Tuscan, is extremely popular. Consequently,
we are not surprised to note its influence upon other dialects,
especially in Molise and the Abruzzi which were for so long
a time under the political control of Naples.
In some parts of the territory, classical learning is of
importance as a retarding influence in the development of the
dialect, since consciousness of the Latin form may serve to
INTRODUCTION
13
check the normal phonetic development. Naturally the dis-
tricts in which this occurs are usually very small and fre-
quently present two strata of words: patrician (which show
the retarding influence of the Classical form) and plebeian
(which usually show normal phonetic development and which
represent the vocabulary of the lower classes). Frequently
we find patrician and plebeian forms existing side by side,
sometimes with the same meaning, sometimes differentiated
in meaning.
(Neap. FRATO (patrician), SCIATO (plebeian), fiato ;
PREBBA (patrician), bassa gente, CHIEVE (plebeian),
commune, communita (Lat. plebem).
The most important places in which Classical influence is
to be noted are Cortona (Upper town), Assisi, Chieti, Cassino,
and Naples (especially the sezioni of Chiaja, San Giuseppe,
and Porta Capuana).
In Cortona, Assisi, Chieti, and Cassino the Classical in-
fluence was due to the monasteries. Consequently it was
more or less restricted to the dependencies of those institu-
tions and made itself felt only in vocabulary. In Naples,
however, it was quite different. Here Classical learning had
never completely died out and we even find a retention of
the old " quantitative accent " or vowel quantity of the Classic
Latin. Then, as Neapolitan became a language of consider-
able literary importance, many of its patrician words were
borrowed by other dialects, especially within the Kingdom of
Naples. We may even suppose in our study of the dialects
of the Abruzzi and Molise that the Neapolitan system of ac-
centuation was for some time prevalent throughout the major
part of the territory, for otherwise it would be very difiicult
to explain many of the regular phonetic developments in these
regions.
There is perhaps no more fundamental determinant in the
development of a language than its accent. The develop-
ment of every sound in a language is directly dependent upon
the force expended in pronouncing it and the time employed
in doing so. Generally speaking, when no strong stress is
M
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
used the tiow of language will be softer and more even, the
explosion of the consonants will have less force, and their
development will be less dependent upon their position, since"
in initial position they will have no more force than when
medial and will therefore undergo approximately the same
changes. Only slight stress being used, aspirates do not ap-
pear and voiceless consonants, losing their force of breath, be-
come weaker than the voiced ; therefore a consonant is on its
way to disappearance when from voiced it becomes voiceless.
The quantity of a syllable will seldom be shortened since, if
the vowel for any reason loses its length, the consonant im.-
mediately following is doubled in compensation. Syncope
is less frequent inasmuch as, there being no strongly stressed
syllable, the unstressed syllables are less slighted. These
rules all apply to Neapolitan.
In Central Italy there are two remnants of the quantita-
tive " accent " ; ( i ) the retention of the double consonants,
which tend to disappear under a strong stress accent and which
have disappeared almost entirely in Northern Italy, (2) the
distinct pronunciation of unaccented syllables which are
slighted and even disappear in the North.
\
^
CHAPTER U
Central Italian Dl\lects.
The Central Italian group of dialects, or lingua tos-
cana, may be roughly described as the vernacular speech
of the provinces of Tuscany, Umbria, Ancona, and Latium.
Dividing this territory into two almost equal parts, there
rises the range of Monte Amiata, continued to the East by
the Umbrian highland. The dialects spoken to the North of
this line may be called Tuscan while those to the South may
be classed as Roman.
The chief divergences to be found between the spoken
language (or Lingua Toscana) as a whole and the Literary
Italian are:
i) The dropping of the final -RE of the infinitive which
is almost universal in verbs of the first conjugation and very
frequent in those of the second and third. This tendency is
less marked in the Montagna Lucchese and the Montagna
Pistojese. It is also a characteristic of Neapolitan and
Abruzzese.
2) The confusion between L and R before consonants or
when final, the pronunciation tending towards R except in
Pisa and Livorno where it is often difficult to distinguish
which is used. In the Montagna Lucchese and the Montagna
Pistojese L and R are however usually differentiated.
The Masculine Singular definite article is ER.
AR, al ; COR, col ; ARTRO, altro ; QUARCUNO, qualcuno.
^ H, a simple aspirate (cf. English H) is differentiated from the
harsh velar H (cf. German CH). Palatal S is shown by §. The ac-
cents usually written in the literary language are kept.
IS
l6 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
(Pisa, Livorno) ' TOLNA(RE). tornare; TULCO, turco.
3) The development of NGE, NGI into GN (NY) which
is common except in the vicinity of Pisa and Livorno.
PIAGNE(RE); SPEGNE(RE).
Tuscan Dialects.
C intervocalic before E and I is pronounced as SC (§).
C before A, O, or U is an aspirate (H, H).
CC intervocalic before E and I is pronoimced as TSC (T§).
Diminutives in -INO.
Circumlocution NOI SI VA. NOI SI PARLA.
The most striking characteristics of the Tuscan group of
dialects are:
i) The pronunciation of C intervocalic before E or I as if
it were SC.
DICE (pronounced DISCE),
while CC in the same position is pronounced as TSC.
CACCIA, cf. CACIO (pronounced CASCIO).
2) The aspiration of C before A, O, and U.
CASA (pronounced CHASA and even ft ASA).
3) The very frequent use of diminutives in -INO.
BELLING; POCHINO; PIANINO; PICCINO.
4) The use of circumlocutions to avoid the first person
plural in -lAMO.
NOI SI VA; NOI SI PARLA, &c.
The Roman dialects on the other hand pronounce C inter-
vocalic before E and I as if it were TSC, C before \ A, O,
ajid U as K (without aspiration), use diminutives in -ETTO
(RAGAZZETTO; POCHETTO; &c.) often discarding a
diminutive which can only be formed with -INO, and freely
use the first person plural in -lAMO, -AMMO, -AMO.
1 When examples are common to most of the territory they are given
without any note thereof ; when, however, they are distinctly local the
place is noted in parentheses.
CENTRAL ITALIAN DIALECTS
17
The Tuscan dialects may be roughly divided into :
I. Pistojese, spoken in Pistoja and the mountains to the
North and West.
II. Florentine, spoken in the middle Vaklarno and North-
ern Chianti.
III. Siennese, spoken in the central Tuscan Highland and
the valley of the Ombrone.
IV. Arettine, spoken in the upper Valdarno, the Val di
Chiana, and the upper Val di Tevere.
V. Perugian, spoken in the vicinity of Perugia and as far
as Lago Trasimeno.
VI. Luccan, spoken in Lucca and the Apuan Alps.
(Separated from Pisan by the Monte Pisano and a malarial
region betv^een the Arno and the Serchio.)
VII. Pisan, spoken in the lower Valdarno. (Separated
from Livornese by a malarial district.)
VIII. Livornese, spoken in Livorno and the Montagna
Livornese.
I. Pistojese.
The language of the Montagna Pistojese differs but little
in pronunciation from the literary standard.
C before A, O, and U is but slightly aspirated. (K, KH).
CHASA; CHASERMA; CHOME; CURA(RE),
CHURA(RE).
Note.) The dialect of the city of Pistoja may change C
before A, O, or U into a spirant (H) when initial or inter-
vocalic or may lose it entirely. (K>KH, fl, or disappears).
C before E and I develops as in the rest of Tuscany ; i. e.,
intervocalic it is pronounced as if it were SC (§), while initial
or after consonants it is pronounced as TSC (T§).
DOLCEZZA; CERTO ; FACE(V)A; (the spellings
DOLCIEZZA, CIERTO, FACIEVA, FACIEA not repre-
senting the true pronunciation but being simply analogical).
G before A, O, and U is occasionally aspirated. (G>G
or GH).
PAG(H)A(RE); AG(H)0.
l8 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
LY intervocalic usually becomes GLI (L) as in the literary
language, but occasionally we find GGHI (GY) as in Vulgar
Florentine (San Frediano).
MEGLIO, MEGGHIO; SVEGLIA, SVEGGHIA.
OU is aspirated like C before A, O, and U and may even
became H. (KW>KHW, HW, H).
QHUANTITA. HUANTITA, HANTITA; QHUELLO,
HUELLO, HELLO; CONQHUISTA, CONHUISTA,
CONHISTA.
-ARIUM occasionally becomes -AGLIO. This is also true
in the Montagna Lucchese.
MACELL AGLIO (macellarium) ; ACQUAGLIO (aquar-
ium) ; ACCIAGLIO (aciarium).
T intervocalic is occasionally aspirated (TH), though this
is not usually shown in the writing.
Italian V intervocalic, whatever be its source, often dis-
appears as in the neighboring dialects.
POERO (pauperum); DEtJTO. DOVlJTO ; AtJTO
(habutum); Afi(RE). AVE(RE).
One of the most marked peculiarities of the Pistojese is
the careful open pronunciation of final unaccented A. In
Pistojese, as in most of the other Tuscan dialects a final ac-
cented vowel may develop an indistinct vowel sound follow-
ing it. Then, especially after close E, a Y glide may develop
between the two vocalic elements.
PUOE, puo; FAE. fa; MfiJE, me; TEJE, te.
Porretta is no longer Tuscan, but Gallo-Italian in its speech,
while Montale Pistojese shows traces of Florentine influence.
II. Florentine.
Adjacent to the Pistojese on the East and South is the
Florentine. The differences between these two dialects are
very marked. The most noticeable are :
i) The harsh velar pronunciation of C (ft) before A, O,
and U which is to be heard in Florence, Vicchio, Palazzuolo,
and Certaldo. It is noticeably different from the softer as-
piration f II) of the Pistojese, Siennese, and Pisan.
CENTRAL ITALIAN DIALECTS ig
2) LY intervocalic regularly becomes GGHI (GY) instead
of GLI (L).
MEGGHIO, meglio; SVEGGHIA, sveglia.
Note.) This change is noticed at Montale and takes place
in Vicchio, Palazzuolo, and Certaldo. (Marradi and Rocca
San Casciano are in Gallo-Italian territory and present GI (G) ;
MEGIO). It also occurs in Arettine, being common in Arezzo,
Cortona, Castiglione Fiorentino. Citta di Castello, San Sepol-
cro, and as far as Sant'Agata Feltria and Urbania Alarchigiana.
In Luccan territory it occurs in Massa Lunigiana and Mon-
tignoso. In Florence it is to be found in the quarters sur-
rounding the Mercato San Frediano.
3) T intervocalic is strongly aspirated in Florence, Vicchio,
and Certaldo, and is sometimes pronounced as English TH
(in thin), sometimes as H.
ARRI(V)A(T)HA; DA(T)HO; ANDA(T)HO.
III. SlENNESE.
Siennese presents few differences from the Pistojese, but
is quite different from the vulgar Florentine.
1 ) C before A, O, and U is pronounced as English H or
disappears.
(H)ASA, casa; (H)OME, come; (H)URA(RE), curare.
2) G before A, O, and U remains without aspiration.
PAGA(RE) ; AGO.
3) LY intervocalic becomes GLI (L).
MEGLIO; SVEGLIA.
4) QU is aspirated and may become HU. (KW, KHW,
HW).
(Q)HUANTITA; (Q)HUELLO.
5) -ARIUM becomes -AIO as in Florentine.
6)T intervocalic may only be slightly aspirated (TH).
7) Italian V intervocalic often disappears as in Florentine
and Pistojese.
\
\
20 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
POERINO, poverino; AtJTO, avuto; DEtJTO, DOlJTO,
dovuto.
8) Diminutives in -INO are especially frequent.
DIO (H)ANINO, cf. Florentine DIO HANK, Dio cane.
IV. Arettine.
i) C before A, O, and U is not usually aspirated, but fre-
quently becomes a weak G.
GASA, casa; DIGO, dico; POGO, poco; MIGA, mica.
2) G before A, O, and U remains.
PAGA(RE); AGO.
3) LY intervocalic usually becomes GGHI (GY) as in
Vulgar Florentine. See above.
4) QU may become GU.
GUANTITA, quantita ; GUELLO, quello.
5) -ARIUM becomes -AIO as in Florentine and Siennese.
6) Intervocalic T remains without aspiration. In the
Northern and Northeastern part of the Arettine territory we
frequently find D.
DISPERfiTA, DISPERfiDA, DISPERATA.
7) Italian V intervocalic often disappears as in Florentine,
Pistojese. and Siennese.
POERO, povero; AUTO, avuto; A(V)fi(RE).
8) An A- is often developed before initial R. This ten-
dency is to be found also in the Roman group of dialects and
East of a line running from near Corneto between San
Lorenzo Nuovo and Orvieto, East of Acquapendente, Santa
Flora, and Arcidosso, West of Chiusi, Cortona, Castiglione
Fiorentino and Palazzuolo, but East of Vicchio.
AR(I)TORNA(RE); AR(I)VEDE(RE).
9) Tonic free A shows a tendency to become M, fe.
GRfiZIA, grazia; AREGN^VA, regnava; DISPERfiTA,
disperata.
CENTRAL ITALIAN DIALECTS
21
10) Tonic open E shows a tendency to become IE when the
final syllable contained an I or O (U) element.
PIERDO, perdo; VIENGO, vengo; CIERTO, CERTA,
CIERTI, CERTE.
11 ) Latin IN- before a consonant becomes AN- and IM-
becomes AM- under the same circumstances.
ANGIURIANDO, ingiuriando; ANSEGNfiTE, insegnate;
AMPAR^RE, imparare.
12) In Cortona (upper town) we notice a tendency to
affix -NE to words ending in an accented vowel. This ter-
mination is common in a large part of the Roman territory.
In Arezzo we find -E, -JE as in Florentine and Pistojese.
( Cortona) R£NE, re ; "PUONE, puo ; MfiNE, me ; TfiNE, te.
(Arezzo, &c.) REJE; PUOE; MfiJE; TfiJE.
V, Perugian.
i) C before A. O, and U is sometimes pronounced as G.
CASA, GASA; DICO, DIGO; POCO, POGO; FORCA,
FORGA.
2) LY intervocalic becomes GLI (L) or J (Y), seldom
GGHI.
MEGLIO, MEJO ; SVEGLIA, SVEJA.
3) QU occasionally becomes GU.
QUANDO, GUANDO; QUANTITA, GUANTITA.
4) -ARIUM becomes -AIO as in Florentine, but occasion-
ally -ARO.
MACELLAIO, MACELLARO ; FORNAIO, FORNARO.
5) Intervocalic T remains.
PARLATO; FINITO.
6) Italian V intervocalic, whatever its source, may disappear.
POERO, povero ; AtFTO, avuto.
7) Perugian ARI- initial (from Latin RE-) becomes AR-.
ARTORNA(RE), ritornare; ARVEDE(RE), rivedere.
22
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
8) Tonic free A remains.
GRAZIA; DISPERATA ; ANDATA.
9) Open E usually becomes IE, open O becomes UO, close
E often becomes I, and close O often becomes U under the
accent if the following final syllable presents an I or O (U).
PRIEGO, prego; TIEMPO, tempo; VIENGO, vengo;
CIERTO, CERTA.
CUORO, coro ; CORE, cuore.
QUISTO, QUESTA.
UGNI. ogni.
10) Latin IN-. IM- remain before consonants.
VI. LUCCAN.
Luccan presents the following characteristics.
i) C before A, O, and U is changed into a sound resembling
English H or disappears.
(H)ASA, casa; (H)OME, come; (H)URA(RE), curare.
Note.) We also find CHASA; CHOME; CRURA (RE).
2A) Latin CY, TY become SS, SSI, SI.
SCORSA, scorza; TERRASSO, terazzo; PIASSA, piazza;
FORSA, forza ; CONDISIONE, condizione ; GRASIA, grazia.
2B) Latin DY becomes §§ or 2.2..
MESSO, ME220 ; RASSO, raggio ; MERRI220, meriggio.
Note.) In SCORSA, FORSA we see the SS simplified
after a consonant.
3) Latin LY usually results in GLI (L) but in some parts
of the Montagna Lucchese we find J(Y). In Massa and Mon-
tignoso we find GGHI, and in Carrara GI.
(Montagna Lucchese) FOGLIO, FOJO; MEGLIO, MEJO.
(Lucca) FOGLIO; ^^lEGLIO.
( Massa, Montignoso) FOGGHIO ; MEGGHIO,MEGHDIO.
(Carrara. &c.) FOGIO, MEGIO.
4) N or NN may become ND, M or MM may become MB.
CENTRAL ITALIAN DL4LECTS 23
INDATO, innato ; COOMBERO, cocomero ; STOMBAGO,
stomago.
5) Italian OU becomes HU or U.
(H)UARANTA; (H)UANTITA; (H)UELLO.
Note.) Occasionally we hear QHUARANTA; OHUAN-
TITA, &c.
6) -ARIUM becomes -AIO or -AGLIO.
CARBONAIO, CARBONAGLIO; ACQUAIO, ACQUA-
GLIO.
Note.) Analogously we have -OIO, -OGLIO.
CUOIO, CUOGLIO.
7) Italian V intervocalic often falls.
POERO, povero ; RICEtJTO, ricevuto ; ALTROE, altrove.
8) Initial V and B are often confused and occasionally in-
tervocalic P becomes F.
BAFORE, vapore; VIENGO, BIENGO.^
9) In the Apuan Alps and along the coast impure S is
palatalized.
gPIA; STIA; SPESSO.
VII. PiSAN.
The dialect of Pisa much resembles that of Lucca. There
are the following peculiarities to note.
i) C initial before A, O, and U occasionally disappears, but
usually becomes a weak H.
(H)ANE, cane; (H)OME, come; (H)OSL cosi.
Note.) CHANE; CHOME; CHOSl are also occasionally
heard.
2) C intervocalic before A, O, and U frequently drops.
ANTIO, antico; DI(H)0, dico.
3) LY intervocalic becomes GLI (L).
MEGLIO; SVEGLIA.
1 The diphthongs of VIENGO, PIERDO are analogical in Luccan,
cf. vieni, tieni.
24
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
4) Initial QU of the literary language becomes V except
after a word which may cause its pronunciation to be
reinforced.
\'ANTITA, quantita; VESTA, questa; VELLO, quello;
but A QUARCHUNO, a qualcuno.
5) -ARIUM becomes -AIO.
CARBONAIO ; FORNAIO.
6) Italian V intervocalic often falls.
POERO, povero; BEtJTO, bevuto.
7) Initial V is often confused with B, and occasionally inter-
vocalic P with F.
BAFORE, vapore ; REFUBBRICA, repubblica.
8A) SS occurs instead of literary ZZ. and S instead of
literary Z, from Latin CY, TY (as in Luccan).
TERRASSO, terrazzo; PIASSA. piazza; SCORSA,
scorza.
8B) §S appears instead of literary GG and S instead of
G (as in Luccan).
RASSO. raggio; RASIONE, ragione.
9) NGE, NGI do not become GN.
PIANGE; MANGIA(RE).
VIIL LiVORNESE.
Livornese has been subject to many foreign influences, es-
pecially Venetian, Genoese, and Neapolitan. Its vocabulary
contains a great number of borrowed words. Its most strik-
ing phonological peculiarities are :
i) Italian S anteconsonantal appears in Livornese as L or
LS (L§) (-|- a consonant).
LPASSO, spasso; LTAGIONE, stagione; LBAGLIO,
sbaglio ; VELTO, VELSTO, questo.
This development is difficult to explain. As S impure was
palatalized in Neapolitan, Genoese, and along the Ligurian and
the Northern part of the Tuscan coast we may suppose that
CENTRAL ITALIAN DIALECTS
25
that was the first step. Then the palatal § may have become
semi-vocalized. See Papanti, p. 247 for a description of the
resultant sound.
2) C before A, O, and U may disappear or be retained as a
weak aspirate as in Pisan.
(H)ASA, casa; (H)ANE, cane; DI(H)0, dico.
3) LY becomes GLI (L) as in Pisan.
MEGLIO ; LVEGLIA, sveglia.
4) OU initial appears as V except after words which cause
a doubled or reinforced pronunciation.
VELLA ; VANDO ; but A QUELLA ; A QUANDO.
5) -ARIUM becomes -AIO.
FORNAIO.
6) Italian intervocalic V often disappears.
POERO, povero ; AtJTO, avuto.
7) Initial B and V are often confused, and occasionally
intervocalic P and F as in Pisan.
BAFORE, vapore; REFUBBRICA, repubblica.
8) Z, ZZ (TS, TTS) appear instead of Pisan S, SS (from
Latin CY, TY, DY).
GIULTIZIA, giustizia ; RAZIONE, orazione ; PIAZZA.
•9) NGE, NGI do not become GN (NY).
PIANGE; MANGIA.
10) Final unaccented E (especially in polysyllables) often
appears as I.
ER CASSIERI, il cassiere; ER POMPIERI, il pompiere.
The Roman Group of Dialects.
The Roman group of dialects presents the following pecu-
liarities.
i) ND becomes NN (as in Abruzzese and Neapolitan).
PARLANNO, parlando; MONNO, mondo.
26 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
2) LD becomes LL (as in Abruzzese).
CALLO, caldo; ARISCALLA(RE), riscaldare; FALLA,
falda.
3) MB becomes MM (as in Abruzzese and Neapolitan).
PIOMMO, piombo ; GAMMA, gamba.
4) Accented open E and O show a tendency towards diph-
thongization (IE and UO) especially when the vowel of the
final syllable was I or O (U).
TIEMPO; VIENGO; UOCCHIO; STUORTO, but
STORTA.
The Roman territory is less cut up by mountain ranges and
other linguistic barriers than is the Tuscan. Politically also
it has been less divided, as papal influence always dominated
here. Therefore it does not present as many dialectic varia-
tions. It may be roughly divided into five parts.
I. ORBITELLANO.
II. ROMANO (Roman).
III. TERNANO.
IV. NETTUNESE.
V. ANCONITANO.
I. Orbitellano.
Orbitellano differs from the other Roman dialects in the
following points :
i) Latin LY becomes GLI (L) instead of J (Y) as in Rome.
MEGLIO; SVEGLIA.
2) Initial RI- remains without developing a prefixed A-.
RITUORNO; RISPONNE(RE), rispondere.
3) The termination added to monosyllables ending in an ac-
cented vowel is often -E, -JE, instead of -NE.
PUCE, puo; R£JE, re; T£JE, te.
CENTRAL ITALIAN DIALECTS 27
11. Romano.
The dialects of the Abruzzi encroach upon the Roman terri-
tory to the East, the linguistic barrier being the first range of
the Sabine Hills. Thus Arsoli, Fara in Sabina, and Rieti are
Abruzzese rather than Central Italian in their speech. These
localities present regular diphthongization of accented open E
and O under the influence of an I or O (U) in the final syllable'
and a closing of close E to I and close O to U (rarely A to E)
under the same conditions. S anteconsonantal, especially when
initial, is somewhat palatalized : G initial before E and I be-
comes J (Y) ; J initial remains as J ( Y) ; D initial may be
dropped (especially before I) or become a voiced dental
spirant, or R; and Latin LY becomes GLI (L). These char-
acteristics are common to Neapolitan and Abruzzese.
TIEMPO ; STELLA ; UOVO, OVA ; CHISTO, CHESTA ;
(I)NNU§TRIUSO, (I)NNUSTRIOSA; SPIA ; JENTILE;
JUSTIZIA; ICE(RE), RICE(RE), dire; MEGLIO.
In Rome itself the following points are to be noted.
i) Latin LY becomes J(Y).
MEJO, meglio ; SVEJA (exvigilia), sveglia.
2) Initial RI- develops a prefixed A- and often loses its I,
becoming AR- (as in Arettine, Perugian, and Abruzzese).
AR(I)TUORNO, ritorno; AR(I)SPONNE(RE), ris-
pondere.
3) Initial R- often develops a prefixed A-.
ARENNE(RE), rendere; ARRfi", ARRfiNE, re.
4) The termination often added to words ending in an
accented vowel is -NE.
PUONE, puo; T£NE, te; M£NE^ me.
5) Intervocalic C before A, O, and U is often confused
with G (as in Arezzo and parts of the Abruzzi, also in Nea-
politan and Perugian).
MIGA, MICA; POGO, POCO; DIGO, DICO.
28 TtlE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Note.) The Roman dialect, with few variations, is spoken
in the Roman Campagna, Viterbo, Orvieto, and Assisi.
III. Ternano.
Ternano is spoken in Terni, Todi, Foligno, and the country
immediately surrounding. This dialect differs from the Roman
principally in that Latin initial G before E and I becomes J
(Y) instead of GI, G, (G), and Latin J initial remains as
J (Y) instead of becoming GL G (G).
JENTILE, gentile ; JENTE, gente ; JUSTIZIA, giustizia.
Rieti, as has already been noted, is Abruzzese in its speech.
The dialect of Norcia often drops D initial, as does Reatino,
but in other respects closely resembles the Ternano.
(D)ICO; (D)UE.
In Terni and Norcia S impure is somewhat palatalized (es-
pecially before T, P, and F), but not in Todi.
IV. Nettunese.
Nettunese is spoken South of the Alban Hills. It is on the
border between the Roman and Neapolitan territory and there-
fore may be expected to show some of the peculiarities of each.
In Nettuno, Alatri, San Vito, and Guarcino open E usually
develops into closed E (instead of remaining or diphthongiz-
ing into IE) when the vowel of the final syllable is I or O (U).
MfiDECO, medico; PfiDE, PfiDI ; D£NTE, DENTI.
Close E usually becomes I when the vowel of the final
syllable is I or O (U).
ISSO, ESSA; PJENA, PJINO; CHISTO, CHEST A,
CHISTI, CHESTE.
Open O usually becomes closed (instead of remaining or
diphthongizing into UO) when the vowel of the final Latin
syllable is I or O (U).
BONO, BONA, BONI, BONE; CORE, CORE
Close O usually becomes U when the vowel of the final
syllable is I or O (U).
CURIUSO, CURIOSA; SULO, SOLA, SULI, SOLE.
CENTRAL ITALIAN DIALECTS
29
OU initial often becomes CH (K) before E and I.
CHISTO, questo ; CHILLO, quelle.
Latin LY becomes GLI (L), as in Neapolitan and Literary
Italian, instead of J (Y) as in Roman.
MEGLIO; SVEGLIA.
In Alatri and Frosinone, sometimes in Nettuno, we find
J initial instead of Literary Italian G, GI, from Latin G before
E or I or from Latin J.
JENTILE ; JENTE, gente ; JUSTO, giiisto.
Arpino is Neapolitan rather than Central Italian in speech
and Anagni is Roman rather than Nettunese.
V. Anconitano.
The March of Ancona has no one dialect. It is much cut
up linguistically ; nevertheless the divergences are scarcely suf-
ficient to make it necessary to treat of the dialects of this small
territory under more than one heading in such a brief study as
this.
The dialects of Ancona and Falconara differ from those of
the rest of the March and from the Roman dialects in general
in that they retain ND, LD, and MB.
(Ancona. Falconara) ANDA(RE) ; CALDO ; PIOMBO.
(Osimo, Jesi, Arcevia, Fabriano, Rome, etc.) ANNA(RE) ;
CALLO ; PIOMMO.
The dialects of Osimo, Jesi, Arcevia, and Fabriano palatalize
S impure (especially before T and P).
§TA(RE); gPIA; AR(I)§PONNE(RE).
In Arcevia, Fabriano, and Loreto we find initial J instead of
Italian G, GI, from Latin G before E and I or Latin J.
JENTE, gente ; JENTILE, gentile ; JUSTO, giusto.
CHAPTER 11.'
Abruzzese Dialects.
Note.) Under this heading it seems advisable to treat of
the dialects of the Marches of Macerata and Ascoli and the
provinces of Terra di Lavoro and Molise, with occasional ref-
erences to Neapolitan, as well as the dialects of the three
Abruzzi.
Tonic Vowels.
Note.) In the provinces of Teramo, Chieti, and Molise
an initial tonic vowel is usually re-enforced either by an aspir-
ation (H) or a J (Y) sound.
(Ten, Ch.) HAN£M£, anima; H6M£. uomo ; JI. hai.
(Atessa) HAN£M£, anima; HOM£, uomo; HAJJ, hai.
(Campobasso) JAN£Mii, anima; J0M£. uomo; JOTTE,
otto.
This also frequently occurs when the initial syllable does
not bear the primary accent.
JARRUBIVE, JARRUBIH£. rubai; ARRtJB£, JAR-
RtJB£, rubo.
A.
I. Tonic A free or checked remains :
I.) When the final unaccented Latin vowel was A.
MMASCIAT/^, MMASCIATz/, ambasciata; DESPERAT.4,
DESPERATE, disperata; CAFA, CAFE, capa: NSULTAT^,
NSULTATE, insultata.
1 Open E and O are indicated by the grave accent ( ^). close E and
O by the acute (')• Where no accent is shown the pronunciation of
the accented vowel has been noted to vary between open and close.
Close A is indicated by the grave accent (A). Palatal S is shown by
S. Indistinct vowels are shown as A, E, I, 0, U.
30
ABRUZZESE
31
Note 1.) Bucchianico and Pratola show both M (£) and
A in the feminine of adjectives (the form with E coming from
analogy with the masculine), but only A in the first and third
persons of the Imperfect Indicative.
GNURI^T£, GNURI£T£, GNURIAT£. ingiuriata;
NSULT£T£, NSULTAT^. insultata; but CACCIAV£,
CACCIAV.4, cacciava.
Note 2.) Under the influence of a palatal immediately pre-
ceding we have in Campobasso Fl£S04, fiascone; CHI£ZZ/i,
piazza; CHIEJ^4 (Neap, chiaja) ; in the Abruzzo of Chieti
Yl^ZZA, piazza, by the side of PROZZE. piazza.
Note 3.) Under the influence of a palatal immediately
following we note the forms £CQU£, H£CQU£ as co-
existent with ACQU-E, HACQUE, acqua, in the Abruzzo of
Chieti.
Alatri shows CASTEGN/^, castagna, and MERC/4, marca.
Note 4). Finamore also notes for Chieti examples show-
ing 0.
JOV£T£, gavita; SPOLL^, spalda; YLoMMA, gamba.
Note 5.) -ARIA becomes -ARA. -ARE; and -ARIU be-
comes -ARO, -ARE.
JENNARO, JENNARE, gennaio; CALLAR^, CALLARE,
caldaia.
Note 5A.) PER ARIA gives Ch. PEDIeR£J£, Ten
PELL'IR£J£, Neap. PER ARIA, the noun ARIA, even in a
closely connected adverbial phrase, showing a very difl:erent
development from the suffix.
Note 5B.) -ARIA and -ARIU sometimes give -filR^,
-£R£ and -ERO, -ER£ by analogy of confusion with -ERIA,
-ERIU. Note that the same thing happens in Italian.
CAMBRI£Rv4, CAMBRIER£, cameriera, cameriere.)
Note 6.) STfiJJ^. stava, and D£JJ^, dava, (Campo-
basso) and §T£V.-J and D£V/^ (Naples and Terra di Lavoro)
are probably analogical. The forms in Chieti and Teramo are
STAT£V£ and D£SS£.
Note 7.) MALUM, porno, becomes MliLA. This change
is also Tuscan.
32
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
2.) when becoming final by the dropping of the final Latin
syllable.
BELTA; MAJfiSTA; AMA(RE); SUPPORTA(RE) ;
CACCIA(RE).
Note.) In Bucchianico we note a tendency toward /E, £.
CIRCHfi(RE), cercare; ARRIGLAR£(RE), arreglare.
II. Tonic A free or checked remains in the provinces of
Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Ascoli, and Macerata
but often becomes 7E and even £ in the Abruzzi of Teramo
and Chieti when the final unaccented Latin vowel was E or
O (U).
PANE (Ch., Ter. P^N£) ; CARN£ (Ch., Ter. CMRNE).
PATR£ (Ch., Ter. PfiTR£) ; QUANNO (Ch., Ter.
QUENNE); MALO (Ch., Ter. M7ELE, M£L£), malo.
Note I.) This change is most noticeable in open syllables.
Note 2.) This change is by no means regular as Finamore
quotes for Chieti and Teramo PATR£, PUATRE, PfiATRE,
P£TR£, P0TR£, and even POTR£.
Note 3.) Atessa, Palena, Villa Santa Maria, and Vasto
usually retain the A, though somewhat closed, Pratola shows
a tendency towards ^, £.
III. Tonic A free or checked remains in the provinces of
Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Ascoli, and Macerata
when the final unaccented Latin vowel was I. In Teramo it
becomes I under these conditions. In Chieti it becomes I
when free in paroxytones, l£ when checked in paroxytones
and either free or checked in proparoxytones.
(Ascoli) DESPERAT/, disperati; SCILLIRAT/, scellerati.
(Bucchianico) DE§PERIT£, disperati; SCILLARITE,
scellerati.
Examples of Changes.
Paroxytones: Both Chieti and Teramo have FRiTii, frati;
SULDIT£, soldati ; MINE, mani ; but in position we find Ch.
CUMBIfiGNE, Ter. CUMBIGNE, compagni; Ch. SI£ND£,
Ter. S1ND£, santi; Ch. CHI£ND£, Ter. QUINDE, quanti;
ABRUZZESE 33
Ch. PIfiSS£, Ter. PISS£,, passi ; Ch. FIfiTTE, Ter. FtTT£,
fatti, etc.
Proparoxytones : Ch. I^SENE, Ter. IS£Nii, asini; Ch.
MERI£C[/L£, Ter. MERtCL^L£, miracoH; Ch. DIJ^VULE,
Ter. DIJtVULE, diavoli; Ch. JIfiNG£L£, Ter. JING£L£,
angeli ; Ch. Pl£SS£R£, Ter. PISS£R£, passeri.
Note I.) The history of ALTERI (v. De Lollis) is in-
teresting. (Arch. Glott. xii).
Ch. ( AVETRI jmV£TR£
Lat. ALTERI AULTRI AVTRI J (Ch. citta) JIV£TR£
Ter. ( ADDRI JIDDR£
Note also Ch. J^YETE, Ter. JIDD£, alti.
Note 2.) In the conjugations of verbs this change is much
more widespread and Parodi finds it in the dialect of Arpino
where IE appears in the Present Indicative and I in the
Imperfect and Preterite.
Note 3.) Atessa, Vasto, Canosa, Palena, and Citta
Sant'Angelo show A, 7E.
(Close).
I. Tonic close E remains in the provinces of Naples, Terra
di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Macerata, and Ascoli when the
final Latin vowel was not I or O (U).
F&MMENA ; CANNfiL/^, candela ; R£N/i, arena ; L£GG£ ;
PUTfiC^, bottega.
Note I.) In Molise we often find £I in an open penult.
R£IT^, rete; S£R/i, SfilR^.
II. Tonic close E usually becomes I in the provinces of
Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Macerata, and Ascoli
when the final Latin vowel was I or O (U).
(Sing.) PAfiSE, (Plu.) PAIS/, RAISE; (Masc.) tSSO,
tSSE, (Fern.) £SS^, £SS£; (Masc. Sing.) CHJINO,
CHJINE, (Fern. Sing.) CHj£N/i, CHJ£N£, (Masc. Plu.)
CHJIN/, CHJINE. (Fern. Plu.) CHJENE.
34 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Note I.) This tendency extends in some places well into
Central Italian territory, being noted as far as Ancona, Sini-
gallia, Arcevia, Cupramontana, Fabriano, Costacciaro, Perugia,
Assisi, Todi, Terni, Rieti. Poggio Moiano, Palombara, San
\''ito Romano, Palestrina, Zagarolo, Albano, and Nettuno.
ISSO, esso; CHtLLO, quello; CHIGL/, quegli ; CHISTO,
questo ; ISS/. essi ; etc.
Note 2.) This tendency is most marked when the vowel of
the final Latin syllable was I, e. g., in the plurals, and in the
second person singular of the conjugations. However it may
occur even where the word to-day ends in -A having under-
gone a change in gender.
(Campobasso) CtTA, aceto.
Note 3.) Important exceptions are VELfiNO and VeRO.
III. Tonic close E develops in Chietino and Teramano like
open E. See below.
Open E.
I. Tonic open E free or checked usually remains in the
provinces of Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Ascoli,
and Macerata except when the final Latin vowel was I or
O (U).
FRtYA, febbre; NfiV£; PReT.^, pietra.
Note I.) In Molise close E frequently appears.
FtLE, fiele ; PtDE, piede ; PRfiT^i, pietra.
II. Tonic open E usually becomes IE in the provinces of
Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise. Aquila, Ascoli, and Macerata
when the final Latin vowel was I or O (U).
MIED£CO, MIED£CH£, MIERECO, MIER£CH£,
medico; TIEMPO. TIEMPE, TIEMB£, tempo; VIECCHIO,
VIECCHI£, (Fem. VECCUIA), vecchio; CURTIELLO,
CURTIEJO, coltello; PIED/ (Sing. PeDE) ; MIEJO,
meglio ; PIEJO, peggio ; etc.
Note I.) Diphthongization is not regular in the first person
singular of the Present Indicative, but occurs in some of the
most commonly used verbs.
ABRUZZESE 3^
A(R)RePO, tu A(R)RIEP£, apro, tu apn ; but TIENGO,
tengo; VIENGO, vengo; etc.
Note 2.) This tendency towards IE extends well into
Central Italian territory, being noted as far as Fabriano,
Perugia, Todi, Orvieto. Montefiascone, Arpino, and occasion-
ally at Rome. It is however rare in Alatri, San Vito Romano,
Guarcino, and Nettuno where Close E appears instead of the
diphthong.
(Alatri) MED£CO; PfiD/, piedi; DfiNT/.
Note 3.) We sometimes find both forms side by side.
MED£CO, MIED£CO.
Note 4.) Latin EU becoming final becomes IE, and EA
becomes ^]A, ^]JA under the same conditions.
MIE (meum) ; MtJA, MEJJ^ (meam).
III. Tonic open or close E becomes ^ in Chietino and
Teramano when the final Latin vowel was A, E, or O (U).
De Lollis states that this sound is more open when the final
vowel was A than when it was E or O (U). He also dis-
tinguishes between Chietino Al (AI) (in open syllables),
A (^) (in closed syllables), and Teramano A (A).
Lat.
fel
Ch.
FAIL£
Ter.
FAL£.
veru
VAIR£
VAR£.
pilu
FAILE
PALE.
tectu
TATT£
TATTE.
pectu
PATT£
PATTE.
strictu
§TRATT£
STRATTE.
Note I.) Finamore quotes examples of E, £, fi£, A, A, O,
6, and UE.
DEBBELE, DEBBELii, D^^BBELE, DkBBELE, DAB-
BELE, DOBB£L£, DOBB£L£, DUEBB£L£, debole; etc.
IV. Tonic close E free or checked becomes I in Chietino
and Teramano when the final Latin vowel was I.
PILE, peli; NtRE, neri; PUJITE, poeti; Ch. PRINE, Ter.
PLIN£, pieni; Ch. Mt§£, Ter. MISE, mesi; MISSE, messi..
36 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
V. Tonic open E free becomes I in Chietino and Teramano
when the final Latin vowel was I.
FIDE, piedi.
VI. Tonic open E checked becomes I£ in Chietino and I
in Teramano when the final Latin vowel was L
Ch. LIETTE, Ter. LtTTE, letti ; Ch. TI£MB£, Ter.
TIMB£, tempi; Ch. BlfiLLE, Ter. BILL£, belli; Ch.
DIfiNDE, Ter. DlND£, denti.
VIL In proparoxytones we find Chietino 1^, Teramano I.
Ch. MI£D£CHE, Ter. MtDECHE, medici; Ch. PRI£-
V£T£, Ter. FRIVETE, preti ; Ch. DltBBETE, Ter. DIB-
BETE, debiti.
VIII. Followed by a Y- combination : we have Ch. and Ter.
RIZZE (retia) ; NNIV£J£ (indivia) ; but CONZ£J£ (con-
silium) ; MEJJ£ (melius); MARAVEJJ£ (mirabilia).
Representing open E : Ch. REMIeDD£J£, Ter. REMID-
DE]E (rimedium) ; Ch. CUMMTfiDD£J£, Ter. CUMMID-
DEJE (commedia).
In conjugations we have Ch. and Ter. TeGN£, tingo ;
JARESB£JJ£, risveglio; etc., in which the second person
singular shows I ; but we also have Ch. TIfiNGH£, Ter.
TINGH£. tengo ; Ch. VIfeNGH£, Ter. VINGH£ ; etc., from
Latin open E.
I.
Tonic I (Classic Latin long I) remains throughout the
territory with but few exceptions.
JENTILE, JENDIL£, gentile; FILO, FtL£; UALLINA,
HALLINE, JALLiNE, GALLING.
Note.) Finamore notes cases showing EI, OI, and AI.
SPEIC.^, SPAIC^, spiga; HALLEIN^, HALLAIN^,
gallina; MEDECEIN/^, medicina ; JENDEIL£, gentile;
RUMEIT£, romito ; DOIT£, DAIT£, dito ; FOIL£, FAIL£,
filo ; CIARDAINE, giardino ; MATUTAINE, mattutino.
These forms do not however show any regular development
or tendency in any extended territory.
ABRUZZESE 37
o.
{Close).
I. Tonic close O remains in the provinces of Naples, Terra
di Lavoro, JMolise, Aquila. Ascoli, and Alacerata when the final
Latin vowel was not I or O (U).
OR^; UTTOBRE, ottobre; MOND£, monte.
Note I.) In Molise we frequently find OU in the penult
when that syllable is open.
CAFF6UN£, cafifone; BUFFOUN£, buitone; and all other
words in -ONE.
II. Tonic close O usually becomes U in the provinces of
Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Ascoli, and Macerata
when the final Latin vowel was I or O (U).
(Masc.) MMEDItrSO, MMEDItlSE, invidioso, (Fem.)
MMEDI6S^.
(Sing.) ADD0R£, odore, (Plu.) ADDtlRE.
(Masc.) gPtJSO, §PtrS£, (Fem.) ^VOSA.
(Masc.) StJLO, StJL£. (Fem.) SOL.^.
(Masc.) CURItrSO, CURItJS£, (Fem.) CURICS.4,
CURIOS£.
(Sing.) UAJ0N£, UAGLIONE (Oscan valaemom?).
(Plu.) UAJT?N£, UAGLItrN£.
(Sing.) REM6RE, rumore, (Plu.) REMtJR£.
Note I.) This tendency ex^tends northward as far as
Ancona. Sinigallia, Arcevia, Cupramontana, Fabriano, Norcia,
Rieti, Palombara, San Vito Romano, Guarcino, Anagni, and
Nettuno, but is not noticeable in Rome, Orvieto, or Perugia.
Note 2.) -ORIO, -ORIA become -iJRE, -6RA.
CUSATtJRE, CUSATOR^, cucitore, cucitora.
Note 3.) D'Ovidio notes for Campobasso the irregular
plurals NOM£ ; §P6S£ ; second person singulars with UO,
TU TE NZUOR£ (but is this not probably from Latin open
O ?) ; and the irregular forms PREJATOR£J£ ; MAGNA-
TOR£J£ ; 'N GERNET6R£J£ coming from Latin words in
38 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
-ORIU in which we may suspect learned influence ; and
RASUOL£, rasoio, which may be influenced by the Tuscan.
Note 4.) In Alatri and Arpino we find the plurals MONTE ;
P6NT£ ; NOME.
Note 5.) In the inflection of the verb we find O in the
first person, U in the second singular.
M'ADDONE, T'ADDT^NE: §P6S£, ^P^OSE, io sposo,
tu sposi.
III. Tonic close O is somewhat confused with open O in
Chietino and Teramano. See below.
Open 0.
I. Tonic open O free or checked usually remains in the
provinces of Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Ascoli,
and Macerata except when the final Latin vowel was I or
O (U).
CoR£, cuore; VOV£, bue; J0M£, 0M£, uomo; SoR^,
SOR£, suora; PROV^, PROVE, pruova.
Note.) In Campobasso this O is usually open in proparoxy-
tones and close in paroxytones. (v. D'Ovidio).
II. Tonic open O free or checked usually becomes UO in
the provinces of Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila,
Ascoli, and Macerata when the final Latin vowel was I or
O (U).
(Sing.) CORE, (Plu.) CUORE.
(Masc.) BUONO, BUONE, (Fem.) BONA, BONE.
(Masc.) CUOCO, CUOCHE, (Fem.) COC^, COCHE.
(Sing.) UOVO, UOVE, (Plu.) 6VA, OVE.
UOCCHIO, UOCCHIE, occhio ; SUONNO, SUONNE,
sonno; PUORCO, PUORCHE, porco, PORC^, PORCHE,
porca.
Note I.) Diphthongization does not regularly take place in
the first person singular of the Present Indicative, but does in
the second person.
Note 2.) In Alatri we do not find diphthongization. Some
ABRUZZESE
39
words which present close O (as if from Latin close O) when
the termination is -A or -E show U under the influence of a
final Latin I or O (U).
FRONN/^, fronda, FRt:jGN/ (frondi) ; M6NTE, MtJNT/.
Note 3.) The tendency towards UO under the influence of
final I or O (U) is noted as far as Ancona, Fabriano, Perugia,
Todi. Orvieto, and occasionally at Rome.
Note 4.) In Arpino we find U(E instead of UO before R
followed by another consonant.
PUCERCHE, PUCERCO, porco; CUCERP£, CUCERPO,
corpo.
in. Latin tonic open or close O became open O in Chietino
and Teramano when the final Latin vowel was A. E, or O.
This sound further developed and we have the following list
of examples.
Lat. bove Ch. VAUV£-.
bonu
BAUN£
solu
SAUL£
flora
FIAUR£
criice
CRAUC£
porta
P6RT£.
nostru
NOSTRA.
porco
PUORCHE
incontra
NGONDR£
russu
ROSE.
turdu
TORDE.
Ter. V6V£.
BON£.
SOLE.
FL6R£.
CR6CE.
PORCHE.
Note I.) Finamore's examples are interesting. He notes
UORT£, orto; PUOZZE, pozzo; MUORTE, morte;
FUORT£. forte; DUOLGE, dolce; 'NBUORTE, importa;
SUOLD£, solde; D0LG£, dolce; URSOGNE, Orsogna;
GI£RN£, giorno; DUL£R£, dolore; AM£R£, amore; PAS-
TURE, pastore; fiR£, ora; PASSIeN£, passione.
Note 2.) Savini states that in Teramo we have open O
from Latin long O (FLORE; 0R£), O from Latin short O
(BON£; VOV£; OM£; JOCH£, gioco), and UO, occasion-
40 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
ally O, from Latin O in position (UOSS£; CUORD£;
UOTT£. otto; but LONGH£).
IV. Tonic close O free or checked becomes £U in Chietino
and U in Teramano when the final Latin vowel was L
Ch. CANN£UN£, Ter. CANNtlNE, cannoni; Ch.
CAF£UN£, Ter. CAFtJN£, caf^oni; Ch. FIEVRE, Ter.
FLT?R£, fiori; Ch. SFEVjSE, Ter. ^FtJSE, sposi ; Ch.
JEURN£, Ter. JtJRN^, giorni; Ch. T£URD£, Ter. TtJRD£,
torti; Ch. L£uMM£, Ter. LtlMME, lombi ; Ch. SEt]RGE,
Ter. S0RGE, sorci.
V. Tonic open O free becomes EJJ in Chietino and U in
Teramano when the final Latin vowel was L
Ch. BEtJNE, Ter. BtJNE, boni ; Ch. V£uV£, Ter. VtJV£,
buoi ; Ch. P£UCH£, Ter. PtJCH£, pochi ; Ch. N£uV£, Ter.
NtJV£, nuovi.
VL Tonic open O checked becomes UO in Chietino, U in
Teramano when the final Latin vowel was L
Ch. PUORC£, Ter. PtJRC£, porci ; Ch. PUoST£, Ter.
PtJ§T£, posti; Ch. STUORT£. Ter. .STl5RT£, storti ; Ch.
MUORT£, Ter. MtJRT£. morti.
f
Vn. In proparoxytones tonic close O free or checked be-
comes Ch. £tj, Ter. U, and tonic open free or checked becomes
Ch. UO, Ter. U under the influence of a final Latin I.
Ch. G£UV£N£, Ter. GtJV£N£, giovani; Ch. F£uN-
N£CH£, Ter. FtJNN£CH£, fondachi ; Ch. MUON£C£, Ter.
MtJN£C£, monaci ; Ch. CUoD£C£, Ter. CtJD£C£, codici ;
Ch. STU0M£CH£, Ter. STtJM£CH£, stomaghi; Ch.
JUOMM£N£, Ter. JtJMM£N£, uomini; Ch. VRUOC-
CH£L£, Ter. VRt:jCCH£L£, broccoli; Ch. CUOMM£D£,
Ter. CtJMM£D£, commodi.
VIII. Followed by a Y combination close O usually results
in Chietino £U, Teramano U (just as when the final vowel
was I).
ABRUZZESE
41
Lat. furia Ter. FtjREJE. Ch. F£uR£J£
diluviu DELLtlV£J£. DELL£UV£J£
angustia ]ANG'0§,TE]E. JANGH£UST£J£
auguriu A]-ORE]E. AJEVjREJE
Note I.) Exceptions are Ch. and Ter. OGN£, ogni;
M0JJ£, moglie; JOCC£, goccia; ONZ£, oncia; POZZE,
pozzo.
Note 2.) Ch. VREVUOGNE, Ter. VREVtJGN£ points
to a Latin verecondia.
IX. Followed by a Y combination open O became Ch. UO,
Ter. U (like tonic open O checked when the final Latin vowel
was I).
Ch. JU0CCHI£, Ter. Jl5CCHI£, occhio ; Ch. CUOCCHIE,
Ter. CtrCCHIE (cochlea) ; etc.
U.
L Tonic U (Classic Latin long U) remains in all the terri-
tory (Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Macerata, As-
coli, Teramo, and Chieti) when the final Latin syllable did not
contain I or a palatal. - ; i--'fr
MtJRE, MXjRO ; JtJNA, LtlNA, LtJNE ; JtJP£, IXjRE/
LtjPO.
Note.) Finamore also notes TeU ; L£UP£ ; PJ£UR£;
Ti; LOP£; &c.
n. Latin tonic U remains in the provinces of Naples, Terra
di Lavoro, Molise, Aquila, Macerata, Ascoli, and Teramo
when the final Latin syllable contained I or a palatal.
MtjRE, mnri ; Jt:jP£, LXjFE, lupi ; FtlRE, puri, etc.
in. Latin tonic U becomes Etj in Chietino under the influ-
ence of a following I or palatal whether it be in paroxytones
or proparoxytones.
N£UDE, nudi; M£UR£, muri ; JEVJ^TE, giusti; J£0-
DECE, giudici ; LEtJTEME, ultimi ; F£uLM£N£, fulmini ;
G£UGN£, giugno; LEXJJJE, luglio; §TR£UJJ£, struggo;
JAREN£tJNCiiJ£, rinuncio.
42 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITAL'i
Pretonic Vowels.
Initial.
A.
Pretonic initial A usually remains.
AMOR£, AMMoR£.
Often other pretonic initial- vowels become A.
ACCHIAL£, UCCHIAL£, occhiale; AS(S)EMPIO (ex-
emplum); ACCID£(RE), uccidere; ACCASIONE, occa-
sione.
Note.) Often two forms exist side by side.
Sometimes A becomes initial by the loss of an initial conso-
nant (usually G).
ALLIN/^, GALLIN.4.
Compounds with A -|- a consonant (from Latin AD-) are
very common.
ADDO(VE), dove; ABBADA(RE) ; ATTUNNA(RE),
attondare.
Often A- is developed before initial R. Then, if followed
by a vowel, the R may be doubled. RI- becomes AR(I).
Under the secondary accent this A may be re-enforced by an
initial aspirate (H) or a Y sound (written J) in the pro-
vinces of Teramo, Chieti, and Molise.
AR(I)TENfi(RE) ; AR(I)TORNA(RE) ; JARRUBIVE,
rubai.
Note I.) The aspirate or Y sound may develop before
A- from other sources in Teramo, Chieti, and Molise.
JACCUSCI, HACCUSCI, cosi. accosi.
Note 2.) This tendency is not as strong in Naples
and Terra di Lavoro as elsewhere but Neapolitan
AR(R)EPI(RE), aprire, perhaps may show metathesis of
R and development of initial A-, or it may be from
ADAPRIRE.
Note 3.) The tendency to develop A- before initial R is
noted in Central Italian territory East of a line running from
ABRUZZESE 43
near Corneto between San Lorenzo Nuovo and Orvieto, East
of Acquapendente. Santa Fiora, and Arcidosso, West of
Chiusi, Cortona, CastigHone Fiorentino, Arezzo, and Palaz-
zuolo. but East of Vicchio.
E.
Initial unaccented E may become A or be lost.
ASTRfiMO (extremum) ; ASEMPIO (exemplum) ;
ASSUCA(RE), (exsucare) ; SCI(RE), uscire.
Initial unaccented I usually falls.
NCANTO, incanto; NGEGNA(RE), ingegnare.
Note.) In the speech of the educated it is frequently
retained.
It sometimes becomes A.
AMMENDA(RE), MMENTA(RE), inventare.
O.
Initial unaccented O usually becomes U, but may fall, or
be changed to A.
UCCHIAT^, occhiata; UBBERIENZ^, ubbidienza;
UNESTA, onesta; UNESTO, NESTO, onesto; NOR£,
ANNOR£. onore; RAZZEJONE (orationem) ; ADDORE,
odore.
U.
Pretonic initial U usually remains, but may fall, or be
changed to A.
UMORE; NU, uno; NEVERZALE, universale; AS-
SURPA(RE), usurpare.
Pretonic Vowels Non-Initial.
Pretonic A non-initial remains.
CAPIELLO, CAPPIEJ£, cappello; GALANT£,
HALANT£.
44
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Pretonic E non-initial remains, but may become A before
R. In hiatus it becomes I.
NEPOT£; LENTfiZ// ; DICIARA, dira; CRIA(RE),
CRIJA(RE).
Pretonic I (Classic Latin long I) non-initial usually remains,
but occasionally we find E.
FIDA(RE); FIDtJCI^, FEDtrCI^ ; FINhZ.-^.
Classic Latin short I (Vulgar Latin E) becomes E.
TENTOR£; LENZOLE; LETECA(RE), litigare.
Pretonic O non-initial usually becomes U.
DUTTORE, dottore; ADDURA(RE), odorare;
PURTA(RE).
Pretonic U non-initial remains.
SUPINO; MURAGLI^.
Post-Tonic Vowels Non-Final.
Post-Tonic non-final A, E, and I tend to become E, unless
followed by R, in which case the tendency is towards A.
SABB£TO, SAPETO, sabato; 6RGH£N0, organo;
MMAG£N£, imagine; XjRUEMO, XjDDEME, ultimo;
GIOV£N£, JOV£N£, giovine; tlA^ARA, mjLARE, edera.
Post-tonic non-final O and U become U (occasionally con-
fused with E).
URACf/LO; MIRACt/LO; DIAVf/LO, DIAVf/L£,
DIAV£L£.
PosT-ToNic Vowels Final,
Post-tonic vowels final become semi-mute and are often
confused.
In Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Aquila, Macerata, and Ascoli
one can distinguish final A (from Latin A), ii (Latin E or
I), and 0 (Latin O or U). Final Neapolitan 0 is pro-
nounced as an obscure U rather than as O.
In Molise one distinguishes final A (Latin A) and E (Latin
E, 1,0, and U).
ABRUZZESE 45
In Teramo and Chieti we find only " E mute " (E) stand-
ing for all final unaccented vowels.
Initial Consonants.
In dealing with initial consonants we must consider the
position of the word in the sentence. At the beginning of a
phrase or after a polysyllable we usually find what may be
called normal development. After many monosyllables how-
ever we notice a re-enforcement of the initial consonant which
usually results in gemination. The most important of these
words are E (est), E (ilH, illae), A (ad), PE (per), CHE
(qui, quis, quod, etc.)
B.
Initial B remains, but is often confused with V, occasion-
ally with P, and sometimes (especially in the provinces of
Teramo, Chieti, and Molise) with M. Occasionally it disap-
pears in unaccented syllables before U.
(Campobasso) BUONE ; V6CCA, bocca; VOV£, bue;
MAMMACIA, bambagia; ME§CUOTT£, biscotto.
(Alatri) BONO; BAMMACI^ ; V0V£ ; VJATO, beato.
(Arpino) BUONO; VOCC^; VJATO.
(Aquila) Y6CCA, BO', vuoi ; BOTfiV^, poteva.
(Teramo) BARVE, barba ; VOV£ ; PESACC£, bisaccio;
MESCOTTE, biscotto.
(Chieti) VESACCE, bisaccio; VARV£. barba; PICCH£,
becco; ME§COTT£, biscotto; MAMMOCCE, MAMMACE,
VAMMACC£, bambagia.
UCC6N£, boccone, and UTT0N£, bottone, are heard in
the provinces of Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Molise, and Aquila.
When initial B is re-enforced it is regularly doubled.
CH£ BBELLEZZA; A CCHfi BBUONO?
BR initial remains or is confused with VR, sometimes with
PR.
(Campobasso) BREJANT£, brigante; VRACCIJ, braccia;
VRfiCCI^, breccia.
46 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
(Alatri, Arpino, Naples, Aquila, Ascoli, Macerata)
VRACCI^, braccia; VRfeCCW, breccia; BRUNELLA,
PRUNELLA.
(Teramo, Chieti) VR£CCI£ ; VROCCH£L£, broccole.
When re-enforced it becomes BBR.
CHE BBREJANTE, CH£ BBRICANT£, che brigante.
BL initial becomes J in Neapolitan, GGHI in Molise, BI
in most of the provinces of Terra di Lavoro, Aquila, Chieti,
Ascoli, and Macerata. It remains BL in a large part of the
province of Teramo. When re-enforced it becomes GGHI in
Naples and Molise (and the Southern part of Terra di
Lavoro), BBI in most of the provinces of Terra di Lavoro,
Aquila, Chieti, Ascoli, and Macerata, and BBL in a large part
of Teramo.
(Naples) JANCO, bianco; E GGHIANCO, e bianco;
JA§TEMMA(RE), bestemmiare.
(Campobasso) GGHIANGHE (JANCO is probably a
borrowing from the Neapolitan), bianco.
(Alatri, Arpino, Aquila, Chieti, Ascoli, Macerata) BIANCO,
BIANGO; t BBIANCO, £ BBIANGO ; BIAgTEMA(RE).
(Teramo)BLANGH£; £ BBLANGHE; BLASTEMA (RE).
Initial P remains.
PACE; PARLA(RE); P£Ct/R^ ; PASSO.
In PUTfiC^, PUTfiCHE P formerly intervocalic but be-
coming initial has remained. Cf. It. bodega.
In BlFiiR£, BBlF£Rii quoted by Finamore for Chieti we
find an intervocalic development of P due without doubt to
analogy with the noun SONABlF£R£ and to frequent use
of the phrase SUNA(RE) LU BIFERE quoted by Finamore.
When re-enforced initial P becomes PP.
PR initial remains. Metathesis of an R final in the syllable
or even belonging to the next syllable is possible, resulting in
initial PR instead of simple P.
PR£D£C^ ; PRATO, PRATE ; PRfiT.^, PRfeTE, pietra.
ABRUZZESE
47
Note.) In Neap. PRi:jBB£CO, pubblico, Ch. and Ter,
PRtrBB£CH£, we have metathesis of an R from original L.
When re-enforced initial PR often becomes PPR.
PL initial becomes CHI (KY) in the provinces of Naples,
Terra di Lavoro, and Molise. In the provinces of Latium,
Ascoli, and Alacerata, and most of Aquila we find PI. In
Teramo we find both PL and PI (PY). In the province of
Chieti we find PR, PI (PY), CHI (KY).
(Campobasso) CHIAN£, piano; CHIAGN£(RE), pian-
gere; CHIfiJ.4, piaggia.
(Naples) CHIANO; CHIAGN£(RE) ; CHIAJ//.
(Arpino) CHIANO; CHIAGN£(RE) ; CHmMMO,
piombo.
(Alatri) PIANO; PIAGN£(RE) ; PItlMMO ; PI0V£.
(Aquila) PIANO; PIaGN£(RE); but CHIT? by the side
of VIXJ.
(Ascoli, Macerata) PIANO; PIAGN£(RE) ; PItJ.
(Teramo) PIAN£, PLANE; PIAGN£(RE), PLAGN£-
(RE) ; Pltr. PLtJ.
(Chieti) PIAN£. PLANE, PRAN£; PIAGN£(RE),
PLAGN£(RE), PRAGN£(RE) ; PRAZZ^, CYil^ZZA;
CHItJ; £ CCHia
F.
Initial F remains.
FACC£, FACCL^; FURNA(RE) ; FA§TID£J£,
FASTIDIO.
When re-enforced F initial usually becomes FF.
CH£ FFAI ?
FR initial remains or becomes VR. Often after F or V
we have metathesis of an R originally final in the syllable or
even belonging to the following syllable, resulting in initial
FR, VR instead of F or V.
FRAT£; FRASCHE ; FRAV£C^, fabbrica; FREBBARE,
febbraio; FR£\M, FReV£, FRfiME, febbre; VROCC/4,
forca; VRfiCCI^, freccia.
48 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Note I.) D'Ovidio notes M PACCL-^ (in faccia) for
Campobasso.
Note 2.) PROSPERO, fosforo, is heard in Terra di
Lavoro and Naples.
When re-enforced FR initial usually becomes FFR.
FL initial regularly becomes SCI in Naples, part of Terra
di Lavoro. and Molise. It becomes FI in Latium, Aquila,
Ascoli, and Macerata ; FL or FI in Teramo ; FL, FR, and
FI in Chieti.
(Campobasso) SCIUCCA(RE), fioccare; SCIOR£, fiore.
(Naples) SCIUCCA(RE); SCIORE ; SCUMMY,
fiamma, SCItJM£, SCItJMMO, flume.
(Alatri) FIUCCA(RE); FIOR£ ; FIAMMJ ; YltjME.
(Teramo) FLOR£. FIOR£ ; FLAMM£, FIAMME.
(Chieti) FL0R£, FIAUR£; FLAMM£, FRAMM£;
FRtJMM£, fiume.
V.
Initial V usually remains, but is sometimes confused with
B, especially when doubled. Before O (rarely before "I)
it may become U or disappear. In the provinces of Molise,
Chieti, and Teramo it often appears as M, especially if there
is a nasal in the following" syllable.
(Campobasso) YkCCA ; \VLLA ; CH£ BBUO', che vuoi?
OCE, voce; Ol^EVA, volpa; MENI(RE), venire.
(Teramo, Chieti) VACCH£ ; VILL£ ; CHfi BBUO?;
MENt(RE); HoLB£, HOL£P£.
VR initial remains. Metathesis of an R originally final, in
the syllable or even belonging to the following syllable is
frequent, the result being initial VR.
VRIOGN/i, vergogna; VRITO, VRIT£, vetro.
D.
Initial D becomes a voiced dental spirant or R in the
provinces of Naples, Terra di Lavoro, and Molise. In the
Abruzzo of Aquila it may become a spirant or R or disappear
ABRUZZESE
49
entirely. In the provinces of Macerata, Ascoli, Teramo, and
Chieti it usually remains, though sometimes weakened.
(Campobasso) DIC£(RE), RIC£(RE) ; DA', RA'. da.
(Naples) DiC£(RE) ; RiC£(RE) ; DA', RA'.
(Arpino) RIC£(RE); DONGO, do; RIE', DIE', diede.
(Aquila, Avezzano) ICO, RICO, DICO.
(Teramo, Chieti, Ascoli, Macerata) DIC£(RE) ; DA(RE).
Note I.) The tendency towards the spirant or R extends
as far as Terracina, Frosinone, and Alatri. Rieti and Norcia
show a tendency towards the disappearance of initial D.
Note 2.) Teramo and Chieti present some forms with T.
DALEFtN£, TALEFINE, delfino.
Note 3.) When re-enforced initial D usually remains, and
is sometimes doubled.
DR initial is kept.
DRUGARL4, DRUGAREJ£; DRAPPARI/i, DRAP-
PAR£J£.
T.
Initial T remains. When re-enforced it is sometimes
doubled.
TAYULA, TAVELE; TAGLI^, TAJ^ ; TXJ; E TTtJ.
Note.) Finamore notes CHIORT/^, torta; CIAMBANE,
tafano; CESTtJNIJ^, testuggine, as co-existent with the
regular forms.
TR initial remains.
TROJ^; TRATT.4(RE).
Note.) The form RETfiLL/^, trottola, is noted by Parodi
for Arpino.
L.
Initial L remains in most of the territory. However in
the provinces of Terra di Lavoro and Aquila and occasion-
ally in those of Teramo and Chieti it develops a palatal quality
shown by the spelling LJ. This sometimes further develops
into J (Y) which in pretonic syllables combines with a fol-
50 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
lowing E, O, or U, then disappears, leaving initial I instead
of the original vowel.
LtJN^, LJtJNM, JtJN^; (U)LEVeTO,, LJEVfiTO,
IVfiTO; LUCfiRT/^, LJUC£RT/4, ICtKTA.
Note I.) This development is most regular in the vicinity
of Arpino, though we may also note Teramano ]X]]]E
(lolium).
Note 2.) RIALii, leale, noted by Ceci for Alatri, is prob-
ably influenced by, or confused with REALii (regalem).
M.
Initial M remains.
MARE; MtLO, MILE, melo; MANO, MANE.
Note.) When re-enforced it is doubled.
A MM£; A MMORTE.
MB, MV, NV becoming initial become MM.
MMASCIAT.4, MM ASCI ATE, ambasciata; MMITA-
(RE), invitare.
MBL becoming initial usually becomes MBI. MBR be-
coming initial remains.
MBIANCA(RE), imbiancare; MBRIACA(RE), um-
briacare.
MM or NM becoming initial remains as MM.
MMERITARSE ( inmeritare +se) .
MP becoming initial remains in Naples but may become
MB elsewhere.
MPALA(RE), MBALa(RE); MPfiGNO, MBEGNE.
MPL becoming initial becomes NCHI in Naples, NCHI or
NGHI in the province of Naples and most of Terra di
Lavoro, NGHI in Molise and occasionally in Teramo and
Chieti, MPI in most of Aquila, Ascoli, and Macerata, MBI
in Teramo and Chieti and occasionally in Aquila, Ascoli,
and Macerata.
(Campobasso) NGHIASTE, impiastro; NGHIANTA-
(RE), impiantare.
(Naples) NCHIASTRO; NCHIANTA(RE).
ABRUZZESE cj
(Arpino) NCHlAgTRO; NCHIANTA(RE).
(Aquila, Alatri) (I)MPIA§TRO; (I)MPIANTA(RE).
(Teramo, Chieti) MBIANTA(RE) ; MBIANA(RE),
impianare; NGHIASTRE; MPIA§TR£.
Note.) We also find MPR, MBR.
MPIEGA(RE), MPREGA(RE), MBREGA(RE).
N.
Initial N remains. When re-enforced it is usually doubled.
NASO, NAS£; NATURE, NATtJRE; Nl^J£, noi; A
NNtJJ£, a noi.
Note.) It disappears in UN, non.
NC becoming initial develops as Tuscan NC or becomes NG.
NCATENA(RE), NGATENa(RE) ; NCE, NGE, non
c'e; NCURABB£L£, NGURABB£L£; NGERATE, in-
cerata.
NCL becomes NCHI, but in the provinces of Terra di
Lavoro, Aquila, Teramo, and Chieti we also find NGHI, GN.
NCHIOSTRO, NGHIoSTRO, GNOSTRE; NCHIUVA-
(RE), NGHIUVA(RE), inchiudere.
NCR becoming initial may become NGR.
NCRESPA(RE), NGRESPA(RE).
ND becoming initial remains if the word has been regarded
as a compound with the prefix IN-, otherwise it becomes NN.
NDERIZZO; NDUVINO; NNlClSTRI/^, industria;
NNOGLI^, NNi:fJ£ (inductilem?).
NF becoming initial remains.
NFADT?SO, NFADlJSE (infadosum).
NFL becoming initial becomes NFR or NFL
NFRAGRANTE, (inflagrantem) ; NFIAMMA(RE).
NFR becoming initial remains.
NFRATTO.
NG becoming initial remains, the G developing as in Tuscan.
NGANNA(RE); NGEGNARSfi.
52
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
NGR becoming initial remains.
NGRATO; NGRILLARSR
NN becoming initial remains.
NNATO, NNAT£, innato; NNAMURARSE.
NQU becoming initial remains in Naples, Macerata, and
Ascoli ; elsewhere it may become NGU.
NQUILINO, NGUILINE; NQUARTA(RE), NGU-
ARTA(RE) ; NQUANTO, NGUANDO, NGUANDE.
NS becoming initial remains as NZ (written NS or NZ).
NSEGNA(RE), NZEGNA(RE) ; NStJRDO, NZl^LDE,
insulto.
NT becoming initial remains in Naples, Ascoli, and Mace-
rata. Elsewhere it may become ND.
NTAGLIO, NTAJO, NDAGLIO, NDAJ£; NTAMA(RE),
NDAMA(RE).
NTR, NDR remain in Naples, Ascoli, and Macerata.
Elsewhere they are usually confused, giving NDR.
(Naples) NTRUNA(RE), intronare ; NTRUVULA(RE)
(inturpidare) ; NDRE/^, Andrea.
(Teramo) NDRAVEDE(RE), intravedere; NDRfeJE,
Andrea; NDRAPI(RE).
NV becoming initial becomes MM.
MMIT(T)A(RE), invitare; MMENTA(RE), inventare.
Note.) NV often remains in the provinces of Macerata,
Ascoli, and the Northern part of Aquila.
R.
R initial generally remains. In the provinces of Macerata,
Aquila, Ascoli, Teramo, Chieti, and Molise it is re-enforced
and frequently develops a prefixed A-.
ROS^, ROSE; RE, RRE, ARRE.
Note.) In Naples it occasionally becomes L.
LfiBBRECA, replica; LEPRtlBBEC^, repubblica.
Note 2.) In Arpino we occasionally find D.
DEMERIO, rimedio; DECREA(RE), ricriare.
ABRUZZESE 53
S and X.
Initial S usually remains. When re-enforced it is gener-
ally doubled.
SfiR^; S0L£; SeMP£, S£MPR£; SE; A SS£.
Note.) It occasionally becomes Z.
Z6LF0 (sulphur); ZUCa(RE), sucare.
X becoming initial gives SCI (S) in SCIAQUA(RE)
(exaquare).
SB and XB becoming initial give SB, in which the S is
slightly palatalized in part of the territory.
SBATT£(RE), §BATT£(RE).
SBR and XBR becoming initial remain as SBR, the S
being slightly palatalized in part of the territory.
§BRUGLIA(RE), disimbrogliare ; SBRIUGNA(RE),
§BREVUGNA(RE), svergognare, (showing metathesis
of R).
SC and XC before A, O, and U remain as SC (SK) in
which the S is somewhat palatalized. The degree of pala-
talization varies much in different sections.
SCAL^, SCaL£; SCARPA, SCARPE ; §CAPPA(RE).
SC and XC before E and I give SC (§) as in Tuscan.
SCETA(RE), (excitare); SC£;NN£(RE). scendere;
SCES^, SCfiS£.
SCL becoming initial becomes SCHI (SKY).
SCHIAFFO, gCHIAFF£; §CHIUPPA(RE), scopiare;
§CHIATTA(RE).
SCR and XCR becoming initial remain as SCR (SKR).
§CRIV£(RE); SCRETTtJRii ; SCRtJP^LO.
SD and XD becoming initial remain as SD, in which the
S may be slightly palatalized.
gDEGNA(RE), SDEGNA(RE) ; §DUGANA(RE),
SDUGANA(RE), sdoganare.
54 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
SF and XF becoming initial remain as SF, in which the
S may be palataHzed.
§FOGLIA(RE), §FOJJA{RE); §FARZA(RE) ; SFOR-
ZA(RE).
SFL and XFL becoming initial give SCI or SFI in Naples,
Terra di Lavoro, part of Aquila, and Molise ; SFI in Mace-
rata, Ascoli, and most of Aquila; and SFL or SFI in Teramo
and Chieti.
(Naples) SCIANCA(RE), §FIANCA(RE) ; SCIATA-
(RE), §FIATA(RE).
(Ascoli) SFIANCA(RE); §FIATA(RE) ; SFIORt(RE).
(Teramo) SFLOCCH£, SFI6CCHE; §FLANGA(RE),
SFIANGA(RE); §FLATA(RE), §FIATA(RE).
SFR and XFR becoming initial remain as SFR, the S
being usually slightly palatalized.
SERENA (RE) ; SFRATTO, §FRATT£.
SO and XG before A. O, and U remain as SG, the S
being somewhat palatalized.
§GUMMA(RE).
SGR and XGR becoming initial remain as SGR.
§GRANA(RE); SGRAVA(RE).
SL and XL becoming initial remain as SL. Original SL
initial developed into SCL, SCHI.
SLAVAfRE) (exlavare); SCLAVS, SCHIAVO
( slavum ) .
SM and XM becoming initial remain as SM, the S being
slightly palatalized.
SMANIA(RE); §MORZA(RE).
SP and XP becoming initial remain as SP, the S usually
being palatalized.
SPALL.-^. §PALL£; §PANNE(RE).
SPL and XPL becoming initial result in SCHI, SBR,
or SBI in Naples, Terra di Lavoro, and Molise ; SPI, SPR,
SPL in Ascoli. ]\Tacerata. and most of Aquila; and SBI, SBL,
ABRUZZESE
55
SBR (occasionally SPI, SPL, SPR) in Teramo and Chieti.
In all districts the S is usually somewhat palatalized.
§CHIANA(RE), spianare; SCHIANTa(RE), SPIANTA-
(RE); §BRENNOR£, SBIANNOR£, splendore; ^FIAZZA,
SPIAZZE.
SPR and XPR becoming initial remain as SPR or SBR, the
S being slightly palatalized.
§PRUVARS£ ; SBRUVARS£.
ST and XT becoming initial remain as ST, in which the
S is usually palatalized.
§TA(RE) ; STRACHINO, STRACHtN£.
SV and XV becoming initial give SB or SV.
SBANKRE), §VANI(RE); SBENTtJR^, SVENTUR//.
Note.) In Ascoli, Macerata, and the Northern part of
Aquila SV is more frequent than SB.
C.
Initial C before A, O. and U remains. When re-enforced
it is usually doubled.
CAVa(RE); CONT.4, CONTE; CAJETANO, CAJE-
TAN£; A CCAJETANO.
Note I.) Finamore quotes examples of QU, before A.
QUAVALL£, cavallo; QUASTfiLL£, castello; OUAF^,
caffe; OUASTICH£, castigo ; OUAPeLLE, cappello.
Initial C before E and I generally develops as in Tuscan.
CERCA(RE); CITTA, CITa; CtMA, CtME.
Note I.) Finamore notes CHJIfiRCHIE, CHJICH-
JIeRCHL^. cerchio; CUWRMA, ciurma ; CHIOCHL4 in
which we find CH (K).
CL initial appears as CHI, occasionally CL or CR.
CHIAV£; CHIARO. CHIARE; CLEMENDIN.4 ;
CRIMM//, clima.
Note I.) The words showing CL or CR are mostly patri-
cian, though CL may be regular in Teramo.
56 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Note 2.) When re-enforced initial CL becomes CCHI,
CCL, or CR.
CR initial remains.
CRIJATtJR^. CRIJATi:rR£; CROC£; E CROC£.
G.
G initial before A, O, and U generally remains in Naples,
Terra di Lavoro, most of Aquila, Macerata, and Ascoli, but
usually disappears in Teramo, Chieti, and Molise except after
words which call for the doubling of the initial consonant. In
accented syllables the vowel becoming initial develops a Y
or H before it.
(Naples) GAMM.4, gamba; GtlMM^ ; GAMM.4R0,
AMM.-iRO.
(Campobasso) JAMM^ ; JT^MM^ ; JAMM£R£,
JAMM^R£.
(Chieti) HAMM^, JAMM.4 ; HtJMM^ ; HtJMM£;
HAMM£R£, JAMMERS.
G initial before E and I usually becomes J, but we often
find G. When re-enforced it becomes G or GG.
(Naples) GEMIELLO; G£NT£, JfiNT£; GENNERO,
JENN£RO.
(Campobasso) JELAT£ ; JENN£R£, JfeNN/iR£; E
GG^NERE.
(Teramo) JELA(RE) ; JETTA(RE) ; Jt^NERE.
Note.) JE GGHIELAT£ (pi.) (Campobasso) is prob-
ably due to analogy with JACCIO, JACC£ (glacies) which
is regularly GGHIACCIO after a word which calls for the
doubling of the initial consonant.
GL initial regularly becomes J or GLI (rarely GHI), but
GGHI after a word which calls for the doubling of the initial
consonant.
JACCIO ; E GGHIACC£ ; GLIANDRA ; E GGHIANDR£.
GN (Lat. NY) becoming initial develops as Tuscan GN.
GNOPAT£, signor padre; GN6R£, signore.
ABRUZZESE
57
Note.) Teramo presents GNAGNE(RE), piangere;
GNUTTUNI(RE), divenire ghiotto, which are interesting.
GR initial may remain or become R. After a word which
calls for the doubling of the initial consonant we find GR,
GGR.
GRkZlA, RkZlA, RAZEJE; GRATO, RATO ; GRAT-
TA(RE), RATTA(RE); NU GRANO, NU RANO ; TRE
GRAN£, TRE GGRANE.
J and DI.
Latin J and DI (DY) initial become J. When re-enforced
they give GGI, GGHI.
JtJSTO; t GGmSTO, fi GGHmSTO ; JETTA(RE) ;
JETTATtrR.^.
Note.) This tendency is noted as far as Alatri, Guarcino,
Fara. Rieti, Terni, Todi, Camerino, Matelica, Fabriano,
Arcevia, and Recanati.
QU.
Latin QU generally remains before A. Before other
vowels it usually becomes C, CH (K) except in patrician and
learned words. When re-enforced it becomes CQU, CCH
(KK).
(Naples) QUAS£; QUAGLIO; CHISTO, CHeST.4 ;
QUIBUS.
(Campobasso) QUANDE ; QUISTE, CHI§T£, CHfiST.4 ;
CACCHE, QUACCHE, qualche.
(Chieti) CAND£, QUAND£ ; QUATR£; QU£RC£,
CeRC/?, CfiRQU^ (showing metathesis).
(Teramo) QUANN£; QUATTRfi; CACCH£, qualche;
C£RQU£, querela.
Note.) From the foregoing examples it is seen that we
often find C, CH before A and QU before other vowels.
58 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Medial Consonants.
B.
Intervocalic B may give B, BB, V, P, M. MM. The
normal results are BB and V. B and P occur most frequently
in Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Ascoli, and Macerata and M, MM
in Molise, Chieti, and Teramo.
(Naples) ABBELE, abile; ABBELITA; SAP£TO,
SABB£TO, sabato; AB£TO, abito.
(Camp.) CARYtrGN£, carbonchio ; ABB£L£ ; ABBETE.
(Chieti) ABBETE; ABBtlSO ; JIPPONE, giubbone;
AMMARCA(RE). abarcare; AMMUCA(RE), aboccare;
FRfiM£, febbre; (cf. Neap.) FRtYA).
(Teramo) LIBBERTA; NoBB/L£; FReM£.
Note.) In the Abruzzi of Teramo and Chieti and part of
Molise the B intervocalic of the Imperfect Indicative has
become a simple aspirate.
FACIAHAME, facevamo; CANTAHAME, cantavamo.
BR and BL intervocalic usually become BBR.
CELEBBRA(RE) ; LIBBR£; UBBRICA(RE), obbligare.
Note I.) In Campobasso we find NEGGHI/^ and in
Naples NEGLI/^ co-existent with the less common N£BBL/4
(nebula).
Note 2.) FRAVEC^(RE). fabbricare; FR^VA,
FReME, febbre; PRUBBECA(RE), pubblicare, show meta-
thesis as a result of which we have intervocalic B which then
develops along the lines already noted.
BI and BBI intervocalic become GGI, J, GGHI. The
normal development for Naples and Terra di Lavoro is
GGI, although J occurs, and occasionally GGHI. The nor-
mal development for Molise and the Abruzzi is J, although
GGI frequently occurs, and GGHI occasionally.
(Naples) RAGGL^; CAGGL-^ ; AGGIO; MANAGGI^,
MANAJ^.
(Camp.) (AR)RAJW; CAJOL.4 ; AJ£ ; SUGGfiTTE,
SUGGiTO.
ABRUZZESE ^g
(Guarcino) (AR)RAJ^; AJO ; AGGIO.
^ (Mogliano) {AR)RAGGHI^, (AR)RAj/i ; AGGHIO.
P.
P intervocalic usually remains except in the provinces of
Teramo and Chieti where it may become PP, BB, or V.
(Naples) ACCUPA(RE); CUPIfiRTO ; CAPEPU6ST0.
(Chieti) CAPEPOP0L£; OPPENEJONE; DESCIB-
B£L£, discipolo; NaBB£L£, Napoli; ARECUVERA(RE),
ricuperare; CUVfiRT.^.
PP intervocalic usually remains.
CAPPELLtJTO, CAPPELLtJTE ; APPURTA(RE).
PI, PPI, DPI intervocalic usually become CCI, occasionally
GGI. (In borrowed words we may find PPI).
SACCIO, SACC£; SECCI^. SECCE; ASSAGGIA(RE).
PL, PPL, DPL intervocalic may become CCHI, PPI, PPL,
PP£L, PPR, or BBR.
The development into CCHI is most common in com-
pounds and usually represents PL initial in the uncom-
pounded word. This development is found in the provinces
of Naples, Terra di Lavoro, and Molise, and the Southern
parts of Aquila and Chieti.
ACCHIANA(RE), appianare ; ACCHIANTA(RE), ap-
piantare. ACCOCCHIA(RE), ACCOPPIA(RE) ; COC-
CHI^, COPPIzJ.
The development into PPL, PPiiL is almost entirely con-
fined to the provinces of Teramo and Chieti.
APPLANA(RE); ACCUPP£LA(RE), accoppiare.
The forms showing PPR, BBR are widespread and are
often co-existent with those showing other developments.
ACCUPPRA(RE); APPRANA(RE) ; ALLfiBBR£C^,
replica.
PR, PPR intervocalic remain or become BBR.
CUPRI(RE); L£PR£, LeBBRE; APRILS, ABBRILE.
6o THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
PS becomes SS as in Tuscan.
ISSO, £SS.4; §CRISS£.
PT becomes TT as in Tuscan.
ADDUTTA(RE) ; SCRITTO, SCRITTE.
Intervocalic F usually remains.
CAFON£, CAFOUN£. <'
FF. DF intervocalic usually remain as FF.
CAFFfi; AFFUCa(RE), affogare; AFFIDA(RE).
FL and FFL (DFL) intervocalic become SCI, FFR,
FFI, FFL.
The development into SCI is limited to the provinces of
Naples, Molise, and parts of Terra di Lavoro, Aquila, and
Chieti.
(Campobasso) SCIUSClA(RE) (which shows also assimi-
lation of the initial consonant of sufRare).
(Naples, Camp.) ASCIA(RE) (adflare).
The other developments are found throughout the territory.
(Naples) AFFREZIONE, AFFLEZION£; AFFIAMMA-
(RE).
(Teramo) AFFLITT£ ; AFFLA(RE) ; AFFIANGH£,
AFFLANGHE.
FR, FFR, (DFR) remain.
ADDEFRE§CA(RE), rinfrescare; AFFRtJNTO, AF-
FRlJNTE; AFFRANCA(RE). AFFRANGA(RE).
V.
Intervocalic V usually remains. It occasionally disappears,
especially when adjacent to U. In the provinces of Teramo,
Chieti, and Molise we occasionally find M.
ADDEVENTA(RE) ; ADDUVINA(RE) ; ARRUINA-
(RE).
(Teramo, Chieti, Campobasso) (A) RIMENt (RE), rivenire.
VV (DV) intervocalic usually becomes BB.
ABRUZZESE 6 I
ABBIA(RE), avviare; ABBALLE, avvalle; ABBIENTO,
avvento.
Note.) Occasionally we find MM in Teramo, Chieti, and
Molise.
AMMENt(RE), avvenire.
D.
Intervocalic D may remain, or become a voiced dental
spirant, or a weak R, or it may lose its voice and become T,
or it may lose its force still more and become a very indis-
tinct sound designated by \ , or it may disappear entirely.
On the other hand it may become DD.
In most of the provinces of Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Aquila,
and Molise, the usual development is into a dental spirant or
R before the accent, and into T after the accent. This can-
not however be stated as a phonetic law.
(Naples) ACCAD£(RE); ADDeDEC^ ; MARONN^,
MADONNA; ACCARfiMI^, ACCADEMI^ ; AFFERA-
(RE), AFFEDA(RE); CATAV£R£; GRATETtJT£N£ ;
§Tt5P£T0, stupido; FRAC£TO, fradicio; PARAVISO,
paradiso; AUNI(RE), adunire; AORNA(RE), adornare;
ADDORE. odore; CR£D£TO, CReDETO, CRfiRETO,
CRfiDDETO.
In Macerata, Ascoli, Teramo, and Chieti the more common
development is into D before the accent, and T after the accent.
SUDA(RE); HUDE(RE), JUD£(RE), godere; NtJTE,
nudo; PfiT£, piede; RIT£(RE), ridere.
Note.) Notable exceptions are Neapolitan TIfiPt/LO,
tepido; Terra di Lavoro ARPtNO (Elpidium) ; Teramano
FRAC£CH£ (Neap.) FRAC£TO.
DR intervocalic usually remains, but in Neapolitan it may
become TR.
ALESSANDRO, ALESSANTRO ; CUCCUDRILLO,
CUCCUTRILLO.
Note.) In CUCCUDRILLO, etc., we note metathesis.
62 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
DD intervocalic usually remains.
ADDO(VE); ADDEFF£NN£(RE).
DI, DJ intervocalic become GGHI, J, GGI, DI, or DDL
GGHI rarely appears except in compounds representing Latin
AD- + J initial.
AGGHIUDECA(RE); AGGHIOGN£(RE), aggiungere;
AGGHIU§TA(RE).
J is the regular intervocalic development for popular words.
AP(P)OjA(RE), appoggiare; A?{V)C>]0\ tJjE, oggi.
The forms showing GGI are probably borrowed, while those
showing DL DDI are patrician.
AP(P)OGGIA(RE); GUARDI^ ; CUMMfiDI^, CUM-
MEDDI^.
Note.) MIEZO, M^ZA show Z.
DM intervocalic becomes MM.
AMMUBIGLIA(RE) ; AMMIRA(RE) ; AMMERETA-
(RE).
DN intervocalic becomes NN.
ANNlJDO; ANNUMERA(RE) ; ANNOTA(RE).
T.
Intervocalic T usually remains, even where it has become
D in Tuscan.
STRATA, STRATE (STRAD/^ is probably borrowed) ;
SPAT.4, §PAT£, etc.
Note I.) Occasionally we find a weak voiceless velar.
VUMECA(RE), vomitare; VOM£CO, VOM£CH£.
Note 2.) Finamore also notes DODD^, dote; PATAN/4,
patata; RlZZA, rete (retia?); R0C£L£, rotolo. SCHIA-
MAZZA(RE), scamatare, is common to most of the territory.
TR intervocalic may remain or become T. In the provinces
of Macerata, Ascoli, Teramo, and most of Chieti and Aquila
it usually remains unless the R is misplaced by metathesis (as
in PRETA, pietra). Forms showing DR may be Tuscan
borrowings.
ABRUZZESE
63
MATRE; PATR£; LATR£, LATRO.
It usually becomes T in Neapolitan, and frequently in Terra
di Lavoro, Molise, and Southern Aquila and Chieti.
MATE; PATE; LAT£, LATR£, LATRO; PATINO,
PATRINO.
TT and TU intervocalic become TT.
ATTENE(RE) ; BATT£(RE).
TY intervocalic may become Z, ZZ, ZI, ZZI, SCI, or GI.
ABBIZIA(RE), avvizziare; ACCAREZZA(RE) ; AGGRA-
ZIA(RE) ; AMICIZI^ ; APPREZZA(RE) ; ACCURTeZZ^ ;
ASSULUZIONE; STASCIONE, §TAGION£.
Intervocalic L usually remains, but occasionally appears
as R.
ABB£L£ ; UCCHIAL£, UCCHIARE, occhiale.
LL intervocalic remains.
ABBALLO, ABBALLE, a valle; ALLARIA(RE).
LB intervocalic may be confused with RB.
ALB^, KRBA; ALB£RO, ARBERO.
LC intervocalic before A, O, and U often becomes RC,
sometimes RG.
StJRCO ; BALCONE, BARCONE, BARGoN£.
LC intervocalic before E and I may develop in Neapolitan
into UC (in which the C has the sound of Roman C before E
and I) and then lose its U after O or U. In the Abruzzi of
Teramo and Chieti we find GG, GGI.
ADDUCI(RE), addolcire; DOC£, dolce; CAUCE,
CAGG£, calce; FAUC£, FAGG£, falce.
Note.) In Molise we may find UC retained after O in
an accented penult.
DOUC£, ROUC£.
LD intervocalic may become RD or UD in Naples, Molise,
most of Terra di Lavoro, and parts of Aquila and Chieti.
Elsewhere it becomes L<L as in Roman.
64 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
¥KKDA, FAUD^, FALL^ ; CAUDO, CARDO, CALLO,
CALL£.
LG intervocalic develops as in Tuscan. Occasionally we
find RG.
LNE intervocalic develops as in Tuscan. BAGNO,
BAGN£.
LM intervocalic may become MM. AMMfiNO, almeno.
LP intervocalic may become RP or UP (L£P, LB in the
Abruzzi of Teramo and Chieti).
NCURPA(RE), NGULPA(RE) (inculpare); ASSAR-
PA(RE) ; VORP£, HOLBE, HOL£P£, volpe.
LS intervocalic may become RZ or UZ (ZZ in the Abruzzi
of Teramo and Chieti).
FARZO, FAUZO, FAZZ£, falso; BARZEMO, BAZZ£M£,
balsamo; PtJRZO, PtlZO, PtJZZO, polso.
LT intervocalic may become UT, T, RT, RD (DD in the
Abruzzi of Teramo and Chieti).
AUTAR£, altare; ARTfiZZ^, AUTfiZZ/i ; RISARDO,
risalto; VOT^, volta; i:rRD£MO, tJDDEME, ultimo;
VODD£, volta.
LTI, LTY intervocalic may become IZ or UZ.
AIZA(RE), alzare; AUZO (altius).
LTR intervocalic may become T, UT, UTR (NDR in
Tercuno and Chieti.
ATO, AUTO, AUTRO, ANDR£, altro.
LV intervocalic may become RV (except in Teramo and
Chieti where LV usually remains).
ASSORV£(RE), ASSOLV£(RE); PORV^, POLVE.
LY, LE, LI intervocalic becomes J, J J (Y, YY) in most
of Macerata, Ascoli, Teramo, Chieti, and Aquila; GLI (LY)
in Naples, Molise, and most of Terra di Lavoro.
MfiJO, MEJJ£, MfiGLIO; BATTAJ^, BATTAJE,
BATTAGLI.4.
ABRUZZESE
65
Note. ) Under L and L-combinations Finamore notes :
ATR£, aVETR£, KITE, AITRE, AUT£, AUTRE, altroj
SCUTA (RE), ascoltare; CAPE§TA(RE), calpestare;
C6T£, colto; DOC£, DOLG£, dolce; POC£, poke; \JTEME,
tJDD£M£, ultimo; CACCH£, qualche; CALG£, calce;
FALZ£, falso; ALDaR£, ARDARE, altare; PULDRON^,
poltrona; CARZfiTT.4, calzetta; SENARY, signale; ARDO,
AVETE, alto; VOLD£, volta; CURTeLLE, coltello.
M.
Intervocalic M usually remains, and is often doubled.
AN£M^ ; AMMORE ; NNAMURATO, NNAMMURATO.
MM, DM remain as MM.
AMMETT£(RE); AMMALINCUNIRSE.
MB intervocalic becomes MM.
GAMM^, HAMM^, gamba; AMMASCI/4, ambascia;
BOMM^, BOMM£, bomba; CUMMAT£(RE), combattere.
MBI intervocalic becomes GN (NY).
CAGNA(RE) ; SCAGNO, SCAGNE.
MP intervocalic may remain or be confused with MB.
ABBAMPA(RE), avvampare; ACCAMPA(RE), AC-
CAMBA(RE) ; CAMPO, CAMBO.
■ MPL intervocalic may become MPR, MBR, MPL, MBL,
or MPL
MPR, MBR are the usual developments except in Teramo
and Chieti where we find MPL, MBL. The forms showing
MPI are probably influenced by the Tuscan.
CUMBRIMIENTO, CUMPRIMIENTO, CUMPLI-
MeNTE, CUMBLIMfiND£; ASSEMPI^ ; COMBLOTE,
CUMBROT£, CUMPLOTJ5.
Note.) JEGN£(RE) (implere) shows GN.
MPR intervocalic usually remains before the accent, but
may become MP after the accent, especially in the vicinity
of Naples.
AMPRfiS^, impresa; SfiMPRE, SfiMPE.
66 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
MN intervocalic becomes NN as in Tuscan.
DANNA(RE).
Note.) Finamore quotes examples of M becoming N.
NtJSC^, musca; NA, come; TIJAN£, (tegamen) ;
PANDUMIN£.
N.
N intervocalic usually remains. It may be doubled.
AN£M^ ; ANOR£, ANNoR£, onore.
NB intervocalic usually becomes MM.
IMMOCHE. in bocca.
NC intervocalic before A, O, and U remains in the city
of Naples, but is confused with NG in the rest of the territory.
AMMANCa(RE), AMMANGA(RE); JANCO, JANGO.
NC intervocalic before E and I becomes NC or NZ in
Naples. Elsewhere it becomes NG.
ABBENC£(RE). ABBENGE(RE), vincere; PANZ^,
PANCI^, PANGI^.
ND intervocalic becomes NN.
QUANNO, QUANN£, quando; ABBANNUNA(RE) ;
ABBUNNA(RE), abbondare.
NF intervocalic remains, or becomes MB (especially in
Teramo, Chieti, and Molise).
CUNFERMA(RE), CUMBERMA(RE) ; CUNFESSA-
(RE), CUMBESSA(RE).
NG intervocalic before A, O, and U generally remains,
ALLUNGA(RE) ; LlCrNGO.
NG intervocalic before E and I usually becomes GN (NY),
sometimes NG as in Literary Tuscan.
PLAGN£(RE), PRAGN£(RE), CHIAGN£(RE) ; AS-
TRIGN£(RE) ; ANGfiLECO.
Note.) By analogy we have CHIAGNO, etc., in verbs.
NP intervocalic usually gives MP in Naples, MB elsewhere.
IMPIfeTTO, IMB£TT£, in petto.
ABRUZZESE
^7
NQU intervocalic remains in Naples, but usually becomes
NGU elsewhere.
CINQU£, CINGU£.
NS intervocalic remains or becomes NZ.
ACCUNSENTt(RE); PENZA ( RE ) ; NZENZATO,
NZENZAT£.
NT intervocalic usually remains in Naples, but elsewhere it
is confused with ND.
ACCANTO, ACCANDO; OUANTO, OUANDO,
QUAND£.
NTR intervocalic may become NT, ND, especially after
the accent.
DINTO, DINDO, DlND£, dentro.
Note.) In Teramo and Chieti we find NDR. D£NDR£.
NTY, NTE, NTI intervocalic become NZ (NDZ).
ACCELLfeNZ^; AMINfiNZ^, eminenza; ANZE, anzi.
NV intervocalic becomes MM.
BEMMENtJTO, benvenuto; AMMENTA(RE), inventare.
R.
R intervocalic remains.
CT:rR^, CtJRE; PIRO, pero; P£RJ.
Note.) Final -RE of the Infinitive is usually dropped.
AMA(RE); PfiRD£(RE).
RR intervocalic remains.
ACCORR£(RE).
RB intervocalic remains.
ARBOR£, ARB£RO, albero.
RC intervocalic before A, O, and U generally remains in
Naples, but is confused elsewhere with RG.
BARC^. BARG/i; FURCH£TT/i, FURGHfeTT^,
FURGHfiTTE.
RC intervocalic before E and I may develop as in Tuscan,
or become RZ.
68 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
MARCI.^, MARZ^ ; PERZO, per cio.
RD intervocalic usually remains.
ACCURDA(RE); ABBUORDO, ABBORDE.
FR intervocalic remains. SCARPA (RE).
RG intervocalic before A, O, and U may remain or become
RI.
LARGO, LARIO; ALLARGA(RE), ALLARIA(RE).
RG before E and I develops as in Tuscan.
SORG£(RE).
RL intervocalic usually remains. PARLA(RE).
RM intervocalic usually remains. ALLARME.
RN intervocalic usually remains.
ATfiRNO, eterno; ATTUORNO, ATToRNE.
RP intervocalic usually remains, but may become RB.
CUORPO, CORP£, CUORBO, CORBE.
RS intervocalic may become RZ.
ARZfiNICO ; ARZO, ARZ£, arso.
RT intervocalic usually remains in Naples, but is elsewhere
confused with RD.
SPIRITO, SPIRDE; ACCERTA(RE), ACCERDA(RE) ;
ACCUORTO, ACCORD£.
Note.) As metathesis of R is very frequent and often
occurred early we often find R combinations reducing and
then developing as if there had been no original R in that
combination. Metathesis usually results in shifting the R
towards the beginning of the word.
PRfiT^, pietra; PRfeVf/L^, PR£Ht/L^, pergola;
TRUMMENDA(RE), tormentare ; VRIOGN/^, VRE-
VOGN/i, vergogna.
When two R's occur in the same word one is frequently
changed to L by dissimilation.
CULECARS£, coricarse; VELARDIN£, Berardino.
ABRUZZESE 69
S intervocalic usually remains. It is seldom fully voiced
and therefore is occasionally confused with SS. It is often
palatalized, especially in words beginning with C, CH, and QU.
ABBUSa(RE); AMUSA(RE), AMMUSSa(RE) ;
QUAS£, QUASCE; CUSI, CUSCt; ACCUSt, ACCUSCt.
SS intervocalic usually remains, but may be palatalized.
FOSSA. F0SS£; TOSS^, TOSSE ; CASSfeTT^, CAS-
C£TT^ ; ABBASCIO ; RtlSSO, RtJSC£.
Note.) In POZZO (possum) we find ZZ (poteo?).
SC before A, O, and U remains. The S may be palatalized.
ABBU§Ca(RE); AFFU§CA(RE), offuscare.
SC before E and I generally develops as in Tuscan.
CAN0SC£(RE), conoscere.
ST intervocalic remains, the S being somewhat palatalized.
ABBA§Ta(RE); ACCU§Ta(RE), accostare.
STR intervocalic often becomes ST, especially after the ac-
cent. The S is usually somewhat palatalized.
MASTO, maestro; (I)NCHIa§TO.
SY, SE, SI intervocalic usually become S with httle or no
palatalization.
CERASO (ceraseum). VASO, bacio.
Intervocalic C before A, O, and U generally remains.
ACO, ACHE, ago; LUOCO, LUOCH£, luogo.
Intervocalic C before E and I develops as in Roman.
DIC£, RICE, tCE; ABBECENA(RE), awicinare.
CC before A, O, and U generally remains.
ACCASI6NE, occasione; ACCADE(RE).
CC before E and I becomes ZZ or CC. CCI.
AZZETTA(RE), accettare; ACCIDfiNTE, ACCIDfeNDE.
70 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
CL, CCL (DCL) develop as in Tuscan into CCHL
UkCCniA; UOCCHIO, TJCCHI£.
CR intervocalic usually remains. It may be confused
with GR.
LACR£M£, LAGR£M£; SACRATa(RE), SAGRATA-
(RE), bestemmiare.
CT intervocalic becomes TT as in Tuscan.
FATTO ; TITTO, TATT£, tetto.
CTE, CTI intervocalic become ZZ or ZI.
ARRIZZA(RE) (adrectiare?) ; BENEDIZION£.
CY, CE, CI intervocalic become CGI or ZZ.
FACCI^, FACC£, FAZZ^, FAZZE ; FRECCI^ , FREZZ^.
G.
Intervocalic G before A, O, and U may appear as G, C^
V, H, J, or disappear.
The developments into G, C, and V are primarily Neapolitan,
but are also to be noted in Terra di Lavoro, Aquila, Macerata,
and Ascoli.
BRIGANT£, BRICANT£; STREG/^, STREC.4 ;
T^CU'LA; STROL^CO; SPAVO, spago; PAVA(RE),
PACA(RE), PAGA(RE).
The development into J belongs especially to Molise.
PR£J£L^, PRfeJC/L^ (Neap. PR£Vf/L^), pergola;
FATEJA(RE), (CASTECA(RE) and LETECA(RE),
found in this district, may be borrowings from Neapolitan),
The development into H is regular in Teramo and Chieti.
FEHtJRE, figura; MAH£, mago.
G intervocalic before E and I may become J (Y) or GGI.
L£J£(RE), L£:GG£(RE); PROJ£(RE), porgere;
PAJ£S£, PAJ£IS£ ; PAGGEN/i.
Note.) The forms showing GG may be patrician.
GGL intervocalic may become GGHI.
AGGHI A J.4 ( RE ) , agghiacciare.
ABRUZZESE 7 I
GN usually develops as Italian GN (NY). In Molise we
often find JEN.
LfiGNA, L£J£N^; PtlGNO, PtrJ£N£ ; AGNIfeLLO,
AJ£NI£LL£.
GR intervocalic may become CR, GR, or R.
ACRO ; TELfeCR.^FO ; ANNEGRI(RE), ANNERl(RE) ;
ALLERAM£:NT£, allegramente ; VERBEGRAZL^, VER-
BERAZEJ^.
GGR, DGR intervocalic become GGR.
AGGRAZlA(RE) ; AGGRAVARSE.
J.
Intervocalic J usually remains instead of becoming GGI as
in Tuscan. It may be doubled,
MAJO, MAJE, maggio; PEJO, PEJ£, PEJJE, peggio.
J frequently appears as an hiatus-breaker, especially in
Molise.
VERBERAZ£J.4 ; ANTON£J£, Antonio.
Note.) In Neapolitan PfiVO (pejus) we find V for J.
FINAL CONSONANTS have disappeared. S in accented
syllables has, however, left a trace, appearing as I, E, JE.
NtJ/, N0£, NXJJE, noi ; Vtr/, VtJE, VtJj£, voi.
CHAPTER III.i
1 Open E and O are indicated by the grave accent (^), close E and
O by the acute (')• Where no accent is shown the pronunciation of
the accented vowel has been noted to vary between open and close.
Palatal S is shown by S. Indistinct vowels are shown as A, E, 0, etc.
Neapolitan.
Tonic Vowels.
Tonic A remains.
PATE, padre; SARVA(RE), salvare; MMACULAT^, im-
macolata.
E (Open).
Tonic open E generally remains unless the vowel of the
final Latin syllable was I or O (U), under which conditions
it becomes lE.
Examples of the persistence of tonic open E : GALLE-
NfeLL^; FRAVULfiLL/4, fragoletta; APfiRT^ ; CtRTA.
Examples of diphthongization : GALLENIfiLLO ; FRUS-
CIAMIfeNTO ; FRATIfiLLO ; APIfiRTO ; CIeRTO.
In hiatus tonic open E becomes I as in Tuscan.
MtO; MtA.
E (Close).
Tonic close E remains unless the vowel of the final Latin
syllable was I or O (U), under which conditions it becomes L
NIRO, N£R^; CHtSTO, CHfiST^, CHISTS (m. pi.),
CHfiSTE (f. pi.) ; PIRO, pero ; F^RA ; MtLO, melo ; MfiL/i.
Note.) It will be seen from the last two of the foregoing
examples that the form M£LU(M) for MALUM must have
been quite early.
NEAPOLITAN 73
I.
Tonic I remains.
FINE ; FILO ; ¥lUi ; LINO.
O {Open).
Tonic open O generally remains unless the vowel of the
final Latin syllable was I or O (U), under which conditions
it becomes U6.
NUOVO, NOV/i; PUORTO, PORT^ ; UOVO, OV^ ;
UOSSO, OSS^; CORE, (Sing.), CUOR£ (pi.).
In hiatus it becomes U.
PU£T^.
O (Close).
Tonic close O remains unless the vowel of the final Latin
syllable was I or O (U), under which conditions it becomes U.
NNUSTRItJSO, NNUSTRIOS^. industrioso, -a; NFU-
MlJSO,<'NFUM0S^, collerico, -a; NFAMONE.
TESTEMM6NI0, is probably patrician.
In hiatus with I from -S final in accented syllables it forms
the combination -tJj£.
NtJjE ; VT?J£.
In hiatus with -O (U) it forms -tJJO, and with -A it forms
-0]A.
StJjO, SOJ^, suo, sua.
U.
Tonic U remains.
T^NN£C£, undici; STtJF^ ; CXJRA.
Pretonic Vowels.
Initial.
Initial unaccented vowels tend to disappear. This is be-
cause in Neapolitan the final vowels are usually kept, although
somewhat slighted, and the resultant hiatus in connected dis-
course has led to a weakening and final disappearance of the
initial vowel. A and U seem to have resisted this tendency
to fall much better than other vowels.
74 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Pretonic Initial A.
Pretonic initial A usually remains.
AMMOR£ ; AFFaR£.
It falls in NATOMI.4, anatomia; STRoLACO, astrologo;
STROLABIO (astrolabium).
Sometimes A appears instead of other pretonic initial vowels.
ASTRfiMO (extremum) ; ASfiMPIO (exemplum) ; AD-
DIOT.4, idota; ANCHI(RE) (implere) ; ACCID£(RE)
(occidere) ; ACCASI6N£ (occasionem) ; ASSURPa(RE)
(usurpare).
Sometimes two forms exist side by side.
ATERNITA, ETERNITA; ACCELL£NT£, ECCEL-
LeNT£; ACCHIAL£, ACCHIAR£, UCCHIaLE, occhiale;
ACCASI6N£, UCCASIONE.
The forms with A- are probably plebeian while those which
retain the general character of the Latin vowel are patrician.
Sometimes A becomes initial by the disappearance of the
initial consonant (usually G-).
ALLIN^, GALLING; ALLO, GALLO; AMMARO,
GAMMARO, gambero. It will be noted that the forms with
and without G- are coexistent.
Compounds with A-|- a consonant (Latin AD-) are common.
ADD6, dove; ABBASTANT£; ACCANOSC£(RE) ;
AMMANCA(RE); ANNASCUOSTO, ANNASCtJSO, di
nascosto.
Pretonic Initial E.
Pretonic initial E is usually lost. Sometimes there are two
existing forms, showing plebeian and patrician development.
TICHfiTT/^, ETICHfiTT/i ; VANG£LO, EVANG£LO.
It remains in words which were used only by the educated.
ECONt/MO; ELEVAZI0N£; EMBRfiM^, emblema;
EQUIPAGGIO ; ERUDIZI0N£.
It sometimes becomes A-. For examples v. PRETONIC
INITIAL A.
NEAPOLITAN 75
Pretonic Initial I.
Pretonic initial I usually falls except in the vocabulary of
the educated. Sometimes two forms are coexistent.
IMPIEGO, MPIEGO ; INCANTO, NCANTO ; INTRAT^,
NTRAT/^.
It sometimes becomes A-. For examples v. PRETONIC
INITIAL A.
Pretonic Initial O. " '■'^
Pretonic initial O usually becomes U.
UBBERIfiNZ^, ubbidienza; UBBRICAZION£, obbliga-
zione; UCCHIAT^, occhiata; UNESTA, onesta; UFFRI-
(R£),offrire.
It sometimes falls.
NOR£, onore; P£N£JON£, opinione; RAZZ£J0N£
(orationem).
It sometimes becomes A-. For examples v. PRETONIC
INITIAL A.
Pretonic Initial U.
Pretonic initial U usually remains.
UMORjE.
It sometimes falls.
N£VERZAL£ (universalem) ; NU (unum).
It is sometimes changed to A-. For examples v. PRE-
TONIC INITIAL A.
Pretonic Vowels Non-Initial.
Pretonic A non-initial remains.
CAPPIELLO ; CAPILLO ; GALANT£.
E.
Pretonic E non-initial remains.
DECISIONS ; LENTfiZ^ ; NEPOTE.
In hiatus it becomes I.
CRIA(R£), creare; CRIANZ^.
76 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
I.
Pretonic I non-initial generally remains.
FIDA(R£); FIDtJCI^ ; FINfiZ/^.
Classic Latin short I (Vulgar Latin E) gives E.
TENTORE; DEFFECORTA, difficulta; LETECA(RE),
litigare.
O.
Pretonic O non-initial generally becomes U.
CUNTa(RE); CUNSmiO: CUNSIDERA(RE) ; FUN-
TAN^.
U.
Pretonic U non-initial remains.
SUPINO; SUPERIORS; MURAGLI^.
Post-Tonic Vowels.
Post-tonic non-final A, E, I tend to become E unless fol-
lowed by R, under which condition the tendency is towards A.
SABBETO, SAP£TO, sabato; fiL£C^ ; ORGHENO (in
URGANIST^ the A is pretonic) ; MMAG£N£ ; tJRDEMO,
ultimo ; J0V£N£ ; fiLL.^R^.
Post-tonic non-final O and U become U.
URACf/LO; UOV[7LO; MIRACf/LO.
Final.
Final unaccented vowels become obscure, but not entirely
confused.
Final unaccented A remains, although much obscured in
pronunciation.
FILM^ ; MIA ; EPlSTt/L^.
Final unaccented E remains, although much obscured.
FINE; UNZIONE.
NEAPOLITAN 77
I.
Final unaccented I is usually written E, although it is not
to be confused with E coming from Latin E, as the E from
Latin I produced a vowel change in the preceding tonic syllable
(provided its vowel was E or O), while the E from Latin E
causes no such development.
CH1§T£ (m. pi.) CHfiSTE (f. pi.)
StJjE (m. pi.) S0J£ (f. pi.)
CH1LL£ (m. pi.) CHfiLLE (f. pi.)
TtJj£ (m. pi.) T0J£ (f. pi.)
O.
Final unaccented O (generally representing Classic Latin
short U) becomes obscured in sound and is usually pronounced
as an indistinct U, although it is written as O. It produces a
vowel change in the preceding tonic syllable (if the vowel of
the tonic syllable was E or O).
PUORCO (m.) VORCA (f.)
PUOSTO (m.) POST^ (f.)
BUONO (m.) B0N.4 (f.)
UOVO (sing.) OV^ (pi.)
U.
Final unaccented U is confused with final unaccented O and
produces the same results.
MANO ; TIEMPO.
Consonants.
Consonants tend to lose their force and are often confused.
This confusion is generally of the voiced with the voiceless
consonants. Metathesis is very common, especially that of R.
L and R are frequently confused.
Initial.
In dealing with the initial consonants one has to consider
the position of the word in the sentence. At the beginning of
a phrase or after a polysyllable we usually find what may be
78 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
called the normal development. After many monosyllables
however we notice a re-enforcement of the initial consonant
which usually results in gemination. The most important of
these words are £ (est) ; E (illi, illae) ; A (ad) ; PE (per) ;
CHE (quod, etc). O (ilium) and A (ilia) are followed by
initial consonants showing normal development.
Note.) It will be seen that most of the cases of gemination
are simple assimilation of the final sound of the monosyllable
to the initial sound of the word following, but in E (illi, illae)
it must be in compensation for the loss of a vowel quantity
in the monosyllable.
B.
Initial B usually remains or is confused with V, which is
generally bi-labial.
BAGNO; BALfiSTR^ ; BANCO; BANN£R.4, bandera;
BANNO, bando; VALLeN.^, BALLEN^ ; VALICL4,
BAUCIS; BUOSCO, VUOSCO ; VALANZ^. bilanza;
VARC^, barca; VASO, bacio (basium).
When re-enforced it becomes BB.
PE BBAGNA(RE) ; E BBARCH£.
BR initial remains or is confused with VR, sometimes with
PR.
BRILLO; BROCC^ ; VRACCIO. braccio ; VRANC^,
branca; VRECCI^, breccia; BRUNfiLL^, PRUNfiLL^.
When re-enforced it becomes BR, BBR.
E (B)BRACC£; E (B)BRANCH£.
BL initial becomes J (Y) in purely plebeian words.
JANCO; JASTEMMA(RE) (blasphemare).
When re-enforced we find (G)GHI.
E (G)GHIANCH£ ROS£.
In patrician words we have BL This may however be
simply a borrowing from the Tuscan.
BIAV/i, biada; BIANCO.
NEAPOLITAN 79
Note.) We also find the re-enforced form BBI which
corresponds to normal BI.
F initial normally remains. It is sometimes confused with
V. Often after F or V initial we have metathesis of an R
originally final in the syllable or even belonging to the following
syllable and the result is the initial combination FR or VR.
FONT£; FINE; FERMAT.4 ; F£ST^ ; VROCC^, forca;
VRUCCAT^. forcata; YRaVECA. fabbrica; FRAVAG-
LIERL-/, f arfaglieria ; FRfiV^, febbre.
When re-enforced we often have FF.
CHE FFINO.
FL initial presents three developments. In purely plebeian
words it becomes SCI ; in purely Neapolitan patrician words
it becomes FR ; in words influenced by, or borrowed from the
Tuscan, it becomes FL
Plebeian words: SCIAMM^, fiamma ; SCIANCO, fianco;
SCIOR£, fiore; SCItlMMO, fiume.
Patrician words: FRAUTO, flauto; FRACCO, fiato ;
FRATO, fiato; FR£MM.4, flemma.
Words influenced by, or borrowed from, the Tuscan:
FIANCO, cf. SCIANCO above; FIACCO, cf. FRACCO
above; FIATO, cf. SCIATO, FRATO; FIOCCO, cf.
SCIOCCO.
When re-enforced we have SCI, FFR, FFI.
A SCIANCO, AFFRANCO, A FFIANCO.
FR initial remains. It is sometimes confused with VR.
FRAT£; VROCC^, forca.
When it is re-enforced we may have FFR.
E FFRAT£.
V.
V initial usually remains but is often confused with B, and
occasionally with P. Metathesis of an R originally final in
8o THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
the syllable or even belonging to the following syllable is
frequent, the result being initial VR.
VASO, bacio; VARC^, barca; VASCIELLO; VEDfi-
(RE); BALICI^, VALICL^. valigia; Y'R.OCCA, forca;
VRITO, vetro; VRIOGN.4, vergogna; VRfiCCI^, freccia.
When initial V is re-enforced the result is not noticeably
different from the normal development, although occasionally
we may hear BB.
Initial VR remains.
P.
Initial P remains, although weakened and often confused
with B.
PUMAT^; PONT£; PORC^ ; PORT^, BORT^.
When re-enforced it often becomes PP.
A PPAR£ ; CHE PPORT.4 ?
Initial PL presents three developments. In purely plebeian
words it becomes CHI ; in purely Neapolitan patrician words
it becomes PR ; in words influenced by, or borrowed from, the
Tuscan it becomes PI.
Plebeian words: CHIOV£(RE) ; CHIaGNE(RE) ;
CHItJ; CHIANO; CHIATTO.
Patrician words: PRATfi^ ; PRAT^NO; PRENARIO;
PRtCO, piego.
Words influenced by, or borrowed from, the Tuscan:
PIACfiRE; PIANO ; PIATTO.
As will be seen from the foregoing examples sometimes
two forms are co-existent.
Note.) Especially interesting is the history of the Eatin
plebem which gives plebeian CHIEV£, " community ", patri-
cian PRfiBB^, " lower classes."
When initial PL is re-enforced we find CCHI, PPR, PPL
A CCHIAGN£(RE) ; CH£ PPRfiBB^ ; A PPIAC£R£.
Initial PR generally remains, although sometimes confused
in pronunciation with BR. Metathesis of an R final in the
NEAPOLITAN 8l
syllable or even belonging to the following syllable is possible,
resulting in initial PR instead of simple P.
PR£T.-^, pietra; PREMON£ (pulmonem) ; PREVC/L^,
pergola; PRUBBECA(RE), pubblicare.
When re-enforced it often becomes PPR.
E PPR£;T£; A PPRUBBECA(RE).
D.
Initial D remains or weakens into a spirant, or R.
DEVUZIONE; D0J£, due; DIGNO; RICE (RE) ; RIEB-
BETO, DIEBBETO; R'O, del.
When re-enforced it appears as D.
CHE DICITE?
DR initial occurs rarely. It is kept.
DRA6N£, dragone; DRAPPARL4 ; DRUGARI^.
T.
T initial remains. There is often metathesis of an R final
in the syllable or even belonging to the following syllable
resulting in initial TR.
TIANO (tegamen) ; TICO (tecum) ; T£RR^ ; TRIATO,
teatro; TRtJVf/LO, torbido.
When re-enforced it appears as TT.
A TTE; A TTORNA(RE).
TR initial remains.
TRAFECA(RE); TRANSETO ; TRENT^ ; TREZZ.4.
When re-enforced it sometimes appears as TTR.
E (T)TR£ZZ£.
L.
L initial remains.
LABBRO; LACO; lago; LaGR£M^ ; L£GG£(RE);
LIBBRO.
Re-enforced L initial becomes LL.
E (L)LAGR£M£; PE (L)L£GG£(RE) ; A LLATO.
g2 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
M.
]\I initial remains although often weakened.
MATTINO; MATTO ; MfiSS.4 ; METT£(RE) ;
MISCHIO.
When re-enforced it often appears as MM.
A MM£; A MMETT£(RE).
MB becoming initial becomes MM. So also MV and NV.
MMASCIAT^, ambasciata; MMEDIA(RE), invidiare;
MMITA(RE), invitare.
MBL becoming initial becomes MBI, MBR.
MBIANCO, MBRANCO.
MBR becoming initial remains.
MBRIELLO; MBRIACA(RE).
MM. NM becoming initial remain as MM.
MMERITARS£; MMEDICA(RE) (inmedicare).
MP becoming initial remains.
MPAGLIA(RE) ; MPEDI(RE).
Note.) The development of MP into MB is to be found in
the province of Naples. (MBAGLIA(RE) ; MBEDI(RE) ;
etc.)
MPL becoming initial becomes NCHI or MPI, occasion-
ally MPR.
NCHIANTA(RE) ; NCHIASTRO ; MPIEGA(RE),
MPREGA(RE).
Note.) The development of MPL into NGHI, MBR is to
be found in the province of Naples. (NGHIANTA(RE) ;
MBREGA(RE).)
MPR becoming initial remains.
MPRfiS^ ; MPRIESTETO.
Note.) The development into MBR is to be found in the
province. (MBRfiS^ ; MBRIESTETO).
NEAPOLITAN 83
N.
N initial remains.
NASO; NATCR^; NEMMICO; NEPOT£; NUOVO ;
N U, uno.
When re-enforced it is usually doubled.
A NNOI^ ; A NNtJjE.
It disappears in UN, non.
NC becoming initial develops as Tuscan NC.
NCATENA(RE) ; NC£.
Note.) The development into NG is to be found in the
province. (NGATENa(RE) ; NG£).
ND becoming initial remains if the word has been regarded
as a compound with the prefix IN-, otherwise it becomes NN.
NDERIZZO; NDIAVULARS£ ; NDURA(RE) ; NDU-
VINO; NNtlSTRI^, industria; NNtJRDO (indultus) ;
NNOGLI^ (inductilem).
NF becoming initial remains.
NFAM£; NFfiTTO; NFASCIAT^ ; NFELIC£.
NFL becomes NFR or NFL
NFRAGRANT£; NFIAMMA(RE), NFRAMMA(RE).
NFR becoming initial remains.
NFRACETA(RE) ; NFRA§CA(RE) ; NFRATTO.
NG becoming initial remains as NG, the G taking the sound
of Tuscan G before E and I and remaining a stop (as in
Tuscan) before A, O, and U.
NGANNA(RE) ; NGEGNARSE.
NGR becoming initial remains.
NGRANtTO; NGRASSA(RE) ; NGRATO.
NN becoming initial remains.
NNIESTO, onesto; NNANZE, innanzi; NNAMURATO.
NQU becoming initial remains.
NQUARTATO; NQUILtNO.
84 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
Note.) In the province it may become NGU. (NGUAR-
TATO; NGUILINO.
NS becoming initial becomes NTS (written NS or NZ).
NSINO; NSISTO; NZEGNa(RE) ; NZERRA(RE) ;
NZURDI(RE); NZOMM^ ; NZAPUNAT/i.
Note.) The pronunciation NDZ instead of NTS is also to
be heard.
NT becoming initial remains.
NTACC^ ; NTACCA(RE) ; NTAGLIO ; NTAVULA(RE).
Note.) The development of NT into ND is to be found
in the province.
NTR becoming initial remains.
NTR£P£TO; NTRICO ; NTRUN^(RE).
Note.) The development into NDR is also to be found in
the province.
NV becoming initial becomes MM.
MMITA(RE), invitare; MMEDIA(RE), invidiare.
R.
R initial remains.
RAD£C^; RANCIO ; RANCORE; RARO ; R-^GOLA ;
RIFA.
S and X.
S initial remains.
SANO ; SANTO ; S£N^PO ; S£MP£ ; SfeSTO ; SOMM/4 ;
SUPPRI(RE), supplire; StiRDO ; Si:jRZC>, sorso.
X becoming initial results in SCI.
SCIAQUA(RE), SCIACQUA(RE) (ex-aquare).
SB and XB becoming initial remain as SB, the S being
slightly palatalized.
§BANI(RE); SBALANZO; SBATT£(RE); SBARCO.
SBR, XBR becoming initial remain as SBR, the S being
slightly pfilatalized.
NEAPOLITAN 85
SBRAVIA(RE); SBRENNESIA(RE), fare brindisi;
§BRUGLIA(RE).
Note.) The forms §BREVUGNa(RE), SBRIUGNa-
(RE), SBRUVEGNA(RE) svergognare, show metathesis of
an R final in the syllable.
SC and XC before A. O, and U remain as SC (English
SHK), the S being somewhat palatahzed.
^CALA; SCAM PA (RE) ; §CAPPA(RE) ; SCARP.4.
SC and XC before E and I give SC (Eng. SH) as in Tuscan.
SCETa(RE) (excitare) ; SCfiS.^ ; SC£N^ ; SCeM^.
SCL and XCL becoming initial result in SCHI (Eng.
SHKY), the S being somewhat palatalized.
SCHIAFO; gCHIARA(RE).
SCR and XCR becoming initial result in SCR (Eng. SHKR).
SCRIV£(RE); SCRtlPf/LO; SCRUTENA(RE).
Note.) SCREMM.-^, scherma, shows metathesis.
SD and XD becoming initial remain as SD, in which the S
may be slightly palatalized.
SDEGNO; SDRAMM/^; §DUGANA(RE).
SF and XF becoming initial remain as SF, in which the
S may be somewhat palatalized.
SFACCIAT^; SFALLl^TO ; SFARZfiTTO ; SFASCIO.
SFL and XFL becoming initial may remain as SFI, or
SFR, in which combinations the S may be somewhat pala-
talized.
§FIANCA(RE), §FRANCA(RE); SFIATA(RE),
SFRATA(RE).
Are these not perhaps cases of borrowings and patrician
words and are not the true plebeian Neapolitan forms
SCIANCA(RE) and SCIATA(RE)? It is impossible to
determine whether the SCI in these cases comes from initial
FL or XFL becoming initial.
SFR and XFR becoming initial give SFR. The S may be
somewhat palatalized.
86 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
SFRANTO; SFRATO ; §FREN^'(RE).
SG and XG before A, O, and U give SG in which the S may
be slightly palatalized.
SGABeLLO; SGARB./I; SGATTO ; SGOBBI^ ;
§Gt/MMA(RE) ; §GONFIA(RE).
SG and XG before E and I. No examples recorded.
SGR and XGR becoming initial remain as SGR, in which
the S may be somewhat palatalized.
§GRANA(RE); §GRASSA(RE); §GRAVA(RE).
SL and XL becoming initial remain as SL, in which the
S may be somewhat palatalized.
§LABRA(RE) ; SLAVATO.
SM and XM becoming initial give SM, in which the S may
be somewhat palatalized.
SMAGLIA(RE); §MACCHIA(RE) ; §MANIA(RE) ;
SMfeRCIO.
SP and XP becoming initial result in SP, the S being
usually palatalized.
SPUORCO; §PICA(RE); SPEDI(RE) ; SPALLS;
§PANNE(RE).
SPL and XPL becoming initial give SCHI, SBR, or SPI
(in all of which the S may be palatalized) according as the
word is plebeian, patrician or borrowed.
§CHIANA(RE), spianare ; SCHIANO ; SCHIANTA(RE) ;
§BR£NN£(RE), splendere; §BRENN6R£, splendore;
§PIECA(RE), spiegare.
ST and XT becoming initial remain as ST, the S usually
being palatalized.
§TACCA(RE); STAFFA; STAGNO; §TA(RE) ;
STANCA(RE).
STR and XTR becoming initial remain as STR, the S
usually being palatalized.
STRACCIO ; STRACCHINO ; STRACUOTTO ; STRATA.
NEAPOLITAN
87
SV and XV' becoming initial remain as SB, in which the
S may be slightly palatalized,
§BENA(RE), svenare; §BENI(RE), svenire; SBEN-
TtJR.^, sventura.
Note.) SGUlZZiiRO, svizzero, points to original SW
or SGW.
C.
C initial before A, O, and U remains.
CAUDO, caldo; CATaV£R£ ; CURTIELLO, coltello;
CUOCO; C0NT.4; CONNf/L/J, gondola; COGLI^fRE).
When re-enforced we often find CC.
A CCASW.
C initial before E and I develops as in Tuscan.
CITA, citta ; CIGLIO ; C£R^ ; CEPRIESSO.
CL initial gives CHI, CR, or CL according as the word is
plebeian, patrician, or borrowed from the Latin (learned).
CHIAVA(RE) ; CHmD£(RE) ; CHIARO ; CREMfeNZ^ ;
CRIMM^, clima; CLARINfiTTO ; CLI£NT£; CLIMM^.
Note.) It will be seen that sometimes two forms are co-
existent.
When re-enforced CL becomes CCHI in plebeian words.
E CCHIARO.
CR initial remains.
CRAP^, capra, shows metathesis resulting in initial CR.
G initial before A, O, and U generally remains, but is some-
times lost.
GAMM^, gamba; GOL.-J ; GUD£(RE) ; GtJMM.^ ;
(G)ALLtN.4 ; (G)AMM.4R0, gambero.
When re-enforced initial G is never lost. It may appear
as G or GG.
A (G)GUD£(RE).
88 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
G initial before E and I develops into a weak spirant, usually
written G, occasionally J.
GEMIELLO; GENERALS; GENERUSITA; GfiNTE,
JlfcNTE.
When re-enforced it is written as G or GG and is about
equal in strength to the Tuscan G.
GL initial becomes GLI or J.
GLIANDRy^ ; JACCIO, ghiaccio.
When re-enforced GL usually becomes GGHL
£ GGHIACCIO.
GN becoming initial develops as Tuscan GN (NY).
GNOPAT£, signor padre ; GN6R£, signore.
GR initial usually remains, but sometimes becomes R.
GR£C^ ; GRATO ; GRATTA(RE) ; RANF.^ ; RAGNoN£.
The G is never lost when initial GR is re-enforced.
E GRANFE.
J and DL
J and DI initial give J.
JUORNO; JUSTIZI^; JURA(RE) ; JtJgTO ; JtJVO
(jugum) ; JESSO; JETTO; JETTATtJR/^.
When re-enforced they give GGI, GGHL
A GGIURA(RE) ; A GGETTA(RE) ; E GGHIUORNO,
£ GGIUORNO.
QU.
QU initial remains before A ; otherwise it becomes CH
except in patrician or borrowed words.
CHISTO; CHILLO; QUATENO ; QUAs£ ; QUATRO;
QUAGLIO; QUINTS; QUIBUS; QUESTOR^.
When re-enforced it becomes COU, CCH.
t CQUASE ; £ CCHtSTO.
NEAPOLITAN 89
Medial Consonants.
B.
B intervocalic usually remains. B and V are, however, often
confused, and sometimes B and P. B is frequently doubled,
especially after initial A.
ABB£L£; ABBELIT^; ABBEVERa(RE) ; ABBULI-
(RE) ; AB£TO ; ABETATO ; SAP£TO, SABBETO.
BR intervocalic usually becomes BBR.
ABBRfiO; ABBREVIA(RE) ; ABBRtJNZO.
Note.) CALAVReS£, CALAVRESATz^ show VR.
FRAVECz^, fabbrica; FR£\M, febbre; §FRAVECA(RE),
sfabbricare, show metathesis of R, and the B remaining inter-
vocalic has become confused with V.
BL intervocalic becomes BBR.
UBBRICA(RE). obbligare.
Note.) PRUBBECA(RE) , pubblicare ; PRtJBB£C4 show
metathesis but also BB.
BI and BBI intervocalic become GGI.
AGGIO (habeo); ASSOGGETTA(RE) ; BENAGGI^ ;
MANAGGL4 ; ARRAGGIATO.
Note.) ANNEGLIA(RE), annebiare; NfiGLI^, nebbia;
NIGLIO are difficult to explain.
F intervocalic remains.
ADDEFfiNNE (RE).
FF intervocalic remains.
AFFAB£L£; AFFACCIA(RE) ; AFFAMATO; AFFA-
TICA(RE).
FL and EEL intervocalic give SCI, FFR, FFI, FFL, ac-
cording as the word is plebeian, patrician, borrowed from the
Tuscan, or borrowed from the Latin (learned).
ASCIA(RE) (adflare); ASCIATARS£ ; AFFREZIONjB;
po THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
AFFRIGG£(RE); AFFIANCO; AFFIAMA(RE) ; AF-
FIATARS£; AFFLEZIONE; AFFUG£(RE).
Note that sometimes two forms are co-existent.
FR intervocalic remains.
ADDEFRtSCO; ADDEFRE§Ca(RE).
FFR intervocalic remains.
AFFRANCA(RE) ; AFFRAPA(RE) ; AFFRlJNTO.
V.
V intervocalic usually remains.
ADDEVENTA(RE) ; ADDUVINA(RE).
In ARRUINA(RE) it has disappeared, but this w^ord may
be a borrowing.
VV (DV) intervocalic usually becomes BB.
ABBIA(RE), avviare; ABBIENTO, advento; ABBIZIA-
(RE).
P intervocalic usually remains, but is often confused in
pronunciation with B.
ACCUPA(RE) ; ANTIPASTO.
^BBRECA , epoca is difficult to explain.
PP intervocalic usually remains.
CAPP^ ; CAPPIELLO ; TAPPO.
PI, PPI (DPI) intervocalic may give GGI, CGI, BBI,
or PPI.
ASSAGGIA(RE); SACCIO ; SECCL4 ; ADDUOBBIO;
D6PPI0.
PL intervocalic. Examples: REPRtJBB£C/^ (not original
PL) ; ALL£BR£C^, replica.
PPL (DPL) intervocalic gives CCHI, PPR, or PPI, ac-
cording as the word is plebeian, patrician, or influenced by
the Tuscan.
NEAPOLITAN
91
ACCHIANA(RE) ; ACCOCCHIA(RE) (ad-copulare) ;
APPRACA(RE), applacare; APPRECa(RE) (adplicare) ;
APPIAC£R£.
PR intervocalic remains.
CUPRI(RE).
PT intervocalic becomes TT as in Tuscan.
ACCATTIVARS£, ADDUTTa(RE).
D.
D intervocalic may remain ; or it may become a dental
spirant, or R ; or it may lose its voice and become a weak T ;
or it may become an indistinct sovmd designated by V ; or it
may disappear entirely. On the other hand it may become DD.
ACCAD£(RE); ACCIDENTATO ; ADDfiDEC^ ; ARA-
PI(RE) (adaprire) ; MAR6NN^, madonna; ACCKRtMlA,
accademia; CATAV£R£ ; GRATETtJT£N£ ; COMMETO,
commodo; BIAV.4 ; CHICVO, chiodo ; INCHIUVa(RE),
chiavare; PARAVISO ; AUNt(RE) ; AORNATO ; AD-
DORii ; CR£DD£TO ; GRATETtJDDEN^.
Note i). In CHICVO; INCHIUVa(RE), the D is not
original since these words come from clavum, inclavare, but
in order to explain the vowels we must suppose analogy of
cludere and consequent forms clodum, includare as for the
Tuscan.
Note 2). It will be noted that sometimes two forms are
co-existent.
Note 3). TIEP?7L0 (tepidum); PELAGR^ (podagra)
show L.
Note 4). PERN/C£ (perdicem) ; ARPINO (Elpidium)
show N.
DR may be confused with TR.
ALISANTRO; CUCCUTRILLO, croccodillo.
DD intervocalic usually remains.
ADDEFFeNNE (RE); ADDAT^, data; ADDEREZZA-
(RE); ADDO, dove.
92
THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
DI intervocalic may give GGHI, J, GGI, DI, or DDL
AGGHIUDECA(RE): AGGHIOGN£(RE) ; AGGHI-
U§TA(RE) ; APOJA(RE) ; CUMMEDI^ ; CUMMEDDL4.
It will be noted that sometimes two forms are co-existent.
The forms showing GGI are probably Tuscan. Those show-
ing DI, DDI are probably patrician.
DM intervocalic becomes MM.
AMMIRAGLIO; AMMUBIGLIA(RE).
DN intervocalic becomes NN.
ANNUCA(RE) ; ANNtJDO; ANNUMERA(RE).
T intervocalic remains, although sometimes doubled and
sometimes weakened into an obscure sound designated by C.
ACCIDENTATO; ABBETA(RE) ; SCtrTO : STRATA;
TtJTTO; VUMECA(RE).
TU intervocalic becomes TT. BATT£(RE).
TR intervocalic usually remains, though the R may be mis-
placed by metathesis or lost.
ANNETRI(RE): PRET/J. pietra; TRIATO, teatro;
PAT£, PATR£, padre ; MAT£M^, mia madre.
TY intervocalic may become Z, ZZ, ZI. ZZI, SCI, or GI.
ABBIZIA(RE) ; ACCAREZZA(RE) ; AGGRAZIA(RE) ;
AMIClZI/i ; APPREZZA(RE) ; ACCURTfiZZ/^ ; ASSOLU-
ZION£ ; STASCIONATO, STAGIONATO.
Note.) In Naples Z is usually TS, but the pronunciation
DZ is to be found in the outlying sections.
Sometimes two forms are co-existent.
L.
L intervocalic usually remains, but is sometimes confused
with R.
ABBALfiRS£, valerse; ABBELE ; ALEZIONE ; UC-
CHIAR£, UCCHIAL£, ACCHIAR£.
NEAPOLITAN 93
LL intervocalic remains.
ABBALLO; AFFULLARSE; ALLARIa(RE), allargare.
LB intervocalic interchanges with RB.
ALB^, AREA ; ALBERO, ARBERO,, ARBORE.
LC intervocalic before A, O, and U usually becomes RC.
ARCUOVO ; StJRCO ; BARCONE, BALC6NE.
Note.) The pronunciation RG is to be heard in the
province.
LC intervocalic before E and I may develop into UC, the
C taking the sound of Roman C before E and L If preceded
by O or U, the U resulting from the L disappears.
FAUCE, ADDUCI(R£) ; DoC£.
Note. ) ADDURCI ( RE ) showing RC is also found.
LD intervocalic may become RD or UD.
CAUDO; SCARDINO; FARD//, FAUD.^.
LG intervocalic before A, O, and U remains or becomes RG.
C6LGA, CORG-^.
LG intervocalic before E and I develops as in Tuscan.
COGLI£(RE).
LM intervocalic may become mm. AMMfiNO, almeno.
LNE intervocalic develops as in Tuscan. BAGNO.
LP intervocalic may become RP or UP.
NCURPA(RE), incolpare; ASSARPA^RE), assalpare.
LS intervocalic may become RZ or UZ.
ACCfiUZO, eccelso; FAUZO, FARZO ; BORZO ;
BARZ£MO.
Note.) After U we may find Z alone. PtJZO, polso.
LT intervocalic may become UT or RD.
AUTAR£; AUTeZZ^ ; RISARDO ; tlRD^MO, ultimo.
LTI intervocalic may become IZ or UZ.
AIZA(RE), alzare; AIZATtJR.-:/ ; AUZO (altius).
LTR intervocalic may give T, UT, or UTR (UDR).
ATO, AUTO, AUTRO, altro.
94 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
LV intervocalic may become RV.
ASSORV£(RE). assolvere; B£R\M ; PORV^, polvere.
Note. ) SPU VERA ( RE ) , spol verare, shows V alone after U.
LY, LE, LI intervocalic develop as in Tuscan.
BATTAGLI^; AMMUBIGLIA(RE).
M.
M intervocalic remains, but is sometimes doubled.
AN£M^; ABBALLAMIENTO ; ABBRAMM/i ; AM-
MOR£; ACCARfiMMI^, ACCARfiMI/l, accademia.
MM, NM intervocalic give MM.
AMMANCA(RE).
MB intervocalic becomes MM.
GAMM^, gamba; AMMaSCI.4, ambascia.
MBI intervocalic becomes GN.
SCAGNO, scambio; CAGNA(RE), cambiare.
MP intervocalic usually remains.
ABBAMPA(RE), avvampare ; ACCAMPA(RE).
Note.) The development into MB is also to be found in
the province.
MPL intervocalic becomes NCHI, MPR, or MPI, according
as the word is plebeian, patrician, or influenced by the Tuscan.
NCHIUMMA(RE) ; CUMPRIMENTO ; ASSEMPIO.
Note I.) The pronunciations NGHI, MBR, and MBI are
also heard in the province.
Note 2.) No example of NCHI in the interior of an un-
compounded word is recorded, and this may be a development
which occurs only in compounds.
MPR intervocalic remains.
AMPRfiS^, impresa.
Note.) The pronunciation MBR is also heard in the
province.
MN intervocalic becomes NN. DANNA(RE). DAM-
MAGGIA(RE) is probably borrowed from the French.
NEAPOLITAN 95
N.
N intervocalic usually remains. It may be doubled.
ANEMA ; BUONO ; ANNOR£, onore.
Note.) VELENO and CALON£CO show L by dis-
similation.
NC intervocalic before A, O, and U remains.
AMMALINCUNmS£; AMMANCA(RE) ; BIANCO,
JANCO.
NC intervocalic before E and I develops as in Tuscan or
becomes NZ.
ABB£;NC£(RE). vincere; ANCINO ; PANZ^ ; FRANZ^.
NCL has become GN in GNOSTRO, inchiostro.
ND intervocalic becomes NN.
ABBANNUNA(RE) ; ABBUNNANZ^; ADDEFFfiN-
N£(RE); ADDIMANNA(RE), domandare; DICeNNO,
dicendo.
NF intervocalic has become MB in IMBIERNO which is
co-existent with INFIERNO.
NG intervocalic before A, O, and U generally remains.
ALLUNGA(RE) ; LtJNGO.
NG intervocalic before E and I usually becomes GN (as in
many of the Tuscan dialects), sometimes NG as in Literary
Tuscan.
AGGHIOGN£(RE), aggiungere; A§TRIGN£(RE) ;
CHIAGN£(RE), piangere; ANGfiLECO ; ANGIC/LO.
Note.) The last two examples may be patrician or learned.
NS intervocalic may remain, but usually becomes NZ.
ACCUNSENTI(RE); ADDENZA(RE) ; CANZA(RE) ;
PENZA(RE).
NT intervocalic usually remains.
ACCANTO ; ACCIDENTATO ; ABBA§TANT£.
Note.) The pronunciation ND is also to be found in the
province.
96 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
NTR may become NT. DINTO, dentro.
Note.) The pronunciation ND is also to be found in the
province.
NTY, NTE, NTI intervocalic become NZ (NTS in the city,
NDZ in part of the province).
ACCELfiNZ^; AMINfiNZ.^ ; ASSENZIALE; ANZ£,
anzi.
NV intervocalic becomes MM.
ACCUMMENt(RE), convenire; AMMENTa(RE) in-
ventare; BEMMENtlTO, benvenuto; MMIDI^, invidia.
R.
R intervocalic remains.
CXJRA ; PER^.
Note.) In the Infinitives of verbs the last syllable is usually
dropped and we have PENZA ; CURA ; FINI ; LtGGE ; etc.
RR intervocalic remains.
ACCORR£(RE); ACCURRfiNZ.t/.
RB intervocalic remains.
AGGARBA(RE); BIRBoN£; AMMURBA(RE).
Note.) AtJSCIL'^LO, arbusciolo, shows its disappearance.
RC before A, O, and U remains.
ABBARCA(RE) ; FURCA(RE).
Note.) The pronunciation RG is to be heard in the pro-
vince.
RC intervocalic before E and I develops as in Tuscan, or
becomes RZ.
AMMARCIA(RE); MERC£, MERZfi; PERZO.
RD intervocalic remains.
ABBUORDO; ACCUORDO ; ACCURDA(RE).
RG intervocalic before A, O, and U may become RI or
remain.
LARIO, LARGO; ALLARIA(RE), ALLARGA(RE).
NEAPOLITAN
97
Note.) PRfeVt/L^, pergola, shows metathesis of R and a
regular development of intervocalic G.
RG before E and I develops as in Tuscan.
Note.) PROJ£(RE), porgere, shows metathesis of the
R and a regular development of intervocalic G.
RM intervocalic remains.
ADDURMI(RE); ALLARM5.
RN intervocalic remains.
AT£:RNO ; ATERNITA.
RS intervocalic becomes RZ.
AMMURZA(RE) ; ARZENALE; ARZ£:N/CO; ARZO;
ARZtJR^; PERZIAN^.
RT intervocalic usually remains, but sometimes becomes RD,
ACCERTA(RE); ACCUORTO ; ACCURTfiZZ^ ;
ARD/C^, ortica.
S.
S intervocalic remains, occasionally being doubled.
ABBUSA(RE); ABBlJSO ; ACCASA(RE) ; ACCtrSO;
AMMUS(S)A(RE).
SS intervocalic remains, often taking on a certain palatal
quality and sometimes being written SCI.
ACCESSIVO ; CASCfiTT^ ; CASCI^, cassa; ABBASCIO.
SC before A, O, and U remains, the S being somewhat
palatalized.
ABBU§CA(RE) ; AFFU§CA(RE) ; MASCf/LO ;
FUOSCO.
SC before E and I develops as in Tuscan.
AMMASCIAT^ ; ACCUNOSC£R£.
ST intervocalic remains, the S becoming somewhat pala-
talized.
ABBA§TA(RE); ABBI§TA(RE), avvistare; AC-
CU§TA(RE).
98 THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
STR intervocalic often becomes ST (with a slightly pala-
talized S).
MASTO, maestro; INCHIASTO, impiastro; PULLASTO.
SY, SE, SI intervocalic become S.
VASO (basimn); CAMIS^, camicia; CERASO (Cera-
seum).
C.
C intervocalic before A, O, and U generally remains.
ADDUCA(RE), ADUCA(RE), educare; AFFATICA-
(RE); DICO.
Note.) In part of the province it is confused with G.
DIGO.
C intervocalic before E and I develops as in Roman.
ABBECENA(RE), avvicinare ; AFFECACE, efficace ;
AFFICIALE, ufficiale.
CC before A, O, and U remains.
BOCC^; ACCASIONE; ACCUPA(RE).
CC before E and I may become ZZ or CC(I).
AZZETTA(RE); AZZIETTO ; LAZZO ; ABBRACCIA-
(RE); ACCACCIA(RE) ; AFFACCIA(RE), AF-
FAZZA(RE).
CL intervocalic becomes CCHI.
UOCCHIO; UCCHIAT.4.
Note.) AGRlSSii, ecHssi, is probably patrician.
CCL intervocalic becomes CCHI or CCR, according as the
word is plebeian or patrician.
ACCHIAP(P)A(RE) ; ACCRAMA(RE), acclamare.
Note.) ACCRAVACA(RE), accavalcare, is an example
of metathesis resulting in CCR.
CR intervocalic may remain or become GR.
LACR£M^, LAGREM^.
CT intervocalic becomes TT as in Tuscan.
TtTTO, tetto; FATTO ; AFFfeTTO.
NEAPOLITAN
99
CTY, CTE, CTI intervocalic become ZZ, ZI as in Tuscan.
ARRIZZA(RE) ; BENEDIZICNE.
G intervocalic before A, O, and U may remain; or it may-
lose its voice and become a weak C ; or it may become an in-
distinct sound designated by V ; or it may lose its consonant
value either partially or completely and become J or disappear.
BRIGANT£, BRICANT£, BRIANT£; §TR£C/^ ; TE-
CU'LA; STROL^CO; LETECA(RE) ; SPAVO ; JtlVO ;
StrVERO; PAVA(RE), pagare; PREJA(RE) ; CHIAJ^,
piaga; ANNEJA(RE), annegare; NI6ZI0, negozio;
RAOST^, aragosta; AtrSTO, agosto.
G intervocalic before E and I may become J or GG or
remain.
VkGE^A, VKGGE^A; LfeGGE; L£GG£(RE), LEJ£-
(RE); FAJO, faggio.
GG intervocalic before E and I develops as in Tuscan.
AGGENTAGLI^; ALLOGGIA(RE).
GGL intervocalic becomes GGHL
AGGHIAJA(RE), agghiacciare.
GN intervocalic becomes palatal as Tuscan GN.
ACCUMPAGNA(RE); ARREGNA(RE) ; ASSIGNA-
(RE).
GR intervocalic often becomes CR, but it may remain, or
become R.
ACRO; SCENOCR^FO; TELfiCR^FO; ANNEGRI-
(RE) ; ALLERAMfeNTE.
GGR intervocalic usually remains.
AGGRANI(RE); AGGRAVARSE; AGGRAZIA(RE).
J-
J intervocalic becomes V in P£VO and disappears in
MAOR£, maggiore.
lOo THE DIALECTS OF CENTRAL ITALY
MAGGI6R£ is a borrowing from the Tuscan and is usually
used to designate rank in the army.
Final Consonants.
Final consonants had mostly disappeared in Vulgar Latin.
However final S in accented syllables persisted and has left
a trace in Neapolitan, appearing as JE,
NlJJE, noi (nos) ; VtJjE, voi (vos).
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